Was Arrested in Philippines : Spy Charges Are Filed Against Navy Employee

A retired Navy radioman who recently worked as a low-level military communications clerk in the Philippines was charged Wednesday with espionage.

A Navy spokesman said that Michael H. Allen, 53, who was arrested Dec. 4 and returned to San Diego for prosecution, faces three counts of giving Philippine police officers confidential intelligence messages from the Naval Telecommunications Center at Cubi Point. The communications center, considered one of the Navy’s most important radio facilities in the Pacific Ocean, handles message traffic for surface ships, aircraft carriers and submarines.

Allen, a 30-year Navy veteran, is accused of wrongfully copying and removing confidential material from the center, delivering to foreign representatives classified and unclassified information developed by U.S. military forces, and soliciting an undercover Naval Intelligence Service agent to commit espionage against the United States, according to the Navy.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Fred Larsen, a Navy spokesman, was uncertain what sentences the charges carry, but said the maximum sentence Allen can receive is life in prison.

Allen allegedly provided the information to Col. Ben Aguilar, Master Sgt. Greg Lappay and Sgt. Romy Tungol, all members of the Philippine national police force. The Navy said Allen reportedly owns a used car lot and cockfighting business in the Philippines, and was using the information to “engender good will” among Philippine police.

The Filipinos are unlikely to be charged in the case.

“Since they are not U.S. citizens, I don’t know how they could be charged,” Larsen said.

Allen remains jailed at the 32nd Street Naval Station brig, where he has been in custody since his return to this country. Larsen said Allen will be defended by two Navy lawyers, Cmdr. Steven Carroll and Lt. Cmdr. Harry V. Rouse. They could not be reached for comment.

Defense lawyers have five days to file a response to the charges, which were served on Allen Monday, Larsen said.

According to 13 specifications filed in support of the charges, the alleged acts of espionage occurred between April, 1984, and December, 1986. The complaint alleges that the acts were carried out with the knowledge that they would be used “to the injury of the United States or the advantage of the republic of the Philippines.”

Allen retired from the Navy in 1972 and served as a reserve until 1980. His arrest followed a five-month investigation by Navy security officers acting on tips from base workers.

Allen, who was born in Ponchatoula, La., and resided in Akron, Ohio, enlisted in the Navy in 1950. He retired with the rank of radioman senior chief. The Navy has said there is no evidence he engaged in espionage during his service.

Although Allen was a civilian government employee, he can be tried by court-martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice because he continued to draw military pay and benefits, Larsen said.