Whitworth Jury Told He Thought Israel Got Data

SAN FRANCISCO — Accused spy Jerry A. Whitworth stole Navy secrets and sold them for cash, but was led to believe that they were going to Israel, his lawyer said Wednesday.

In his closing argument, attorney James Larson told jurors that the central issue in the federal court trial remains Whitworth’s “state of mind” when he dealt with admitted Soviet spy John A. Walker Jr.

Larson argued that Whitworth, 46, never would have passed Navy secrets to Walker if he had thought that they were destined for the Soviets or that they would have hurt the United States.

“The issue is not whether or not classified information was passed. The question is whether Mr. Whitworth knew he was spying,” Larson said.

Serious Allegation

Larson made the argument hoping to undermine the most serious allegation against Whitworth--that he passed top secret naval codes knowing that his action would injure U.S. interests or help the Soviet Union. If convicted, Whitworth faces life sentences on seven of eight espionage counts in which he is accused of harming the United States or helping the Soviets.

But with each of those charges, jurors could find that Whitworth is guilty of the lesser crime of disclosing naval codes--a crime that carries a maximum of 10 years in prison.

Additionally, Whitworth faces at most five years in prison for allegedly failing to pay income taxes on $332,000 that he received for passing military secrets to Walker, plus another 10 years in prison for the eighth spy count against him. If Whitworth is convicted of spying and sentenced to multiple life terms, he would have practically no chance of parole. But if Larson can convince jurors that Whitworth is not guilty of the most serious espionage charges, the retired communications expert would have a hope of winning eventual release.

Larson lashed out at the key government witness, Walker, calling him a lying manipulator who ruined the life of his best friend, Whitworth, as well as the lives of his fiancee, his ex-wife, his son and his brother.

Walker’s son, Michael, and brother, Arthur, are serving sentences of 25 years and life in prison, respectively, for their roles in the ring. Walker’s fiancee was fired from her job as a Norfolk police officer, and his wife became an alcoholic, Larson said.

The defense attorney implied that Walker manipulated Whitworth into believing that the information he stole was being sold to the Israelis, something that Whitworth thought would not have harmed U.S. interests.

Larson described Israel as a close ally, one that used “great ingenuity” to fend off its enemies. He also noted that Israel has a well-developed intelligence-gathering operation and would be a “prime candidate” to receive the code information that Whitworth is accused of stealing between 1975 and his retirement from the Navy in 1983.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Leida Schoggen objected to Larson’s comments, saying that there was no evidence in the three-month-long trial that Israel received the information supplied by Whitworth. The government has said throughout the case that the Soviet Union was the only nation that received the information.

Larson is expected to complete his closing arguments today.