Leathernecks in Moscow Ran Roughshod, Diplomats Say : ‘Marine House’ Seen Steeped in Sex, Liquor, Marijuana

A hedonistic mood in their embassy quarters and a tolerant attitude by superiors created a climate of easy sex, lots of liquor and black-market profiteering for many of the young Marines attached to the U.S. Embassy here, according to diplomatic personnel here.

“Marine House,” the section where the Leathernecks are quartered, “could have been ‘Animal House,’ ” said one Western diplomat, referring to a popular American film about orgiastic college parties.

At one of the Marines’ celebrations, a young British woman was raped, one of the sources said. Afterward, five Marines were sent home to face courts-martial. Questioning of other Marines in the same unit indicated widespread illicit contacts with Soviet women and black-market sales.

Found With Soviet Maid

Other stories surfaced from U.S. and other Western personnel here, all requesting anonymity. A young Englishman, a guest of an American diplomat, walked in unexpectedly one day to discover a Marine sergeant in bed with a Soviet maid. Although the incident was reported, the embassy took no action against the Marine for more than a month.

Similarly, it was said, other Americans on temporary assignment in Moscow sometimes made their hotel rooms available to Marines for daytime liaisons with Soviet women.

But what turned Marine misbehavior into a national security disaster was the disclosure that, according to U.S. investigators, two members of the Marine security contingent had affairs with Soviet women and allowed Soviet spies access to the embassy, including some of the most protected areas of the chancery building.

U.S. secret codes, sources and methods employed by the CIA and other embassy secrets have been compromised. As a result, the entire 28-member Marine security detail is being withdrawn for questioning in the scandal.

Older Replacements Urged

Former Ambassador Arthur A. Hartman, jolted by the incident, has recommended that the young Leathernecks be replaced by older, more experienced State Department security officers.

Violetta Seina, a Russian woman who worked in the U.S. Embassy, became involved with Sgt. Clayton J. Lonetree, a Marine security guard. According to reports by investigators, Lonetree has said that Seina persuaded him to allow her “uncle” to enter the embassy at night when no American diplomats were present.

Another Marine, Cpl. Arnold Bracy, allegedly became involved with an attractive young Soviet woman named Galya, who worked as a cook in the Marines’ quarters. Bracy is also suspected of allowing Soviet spies into secret embassy areas. Lonetree and Bracy have been charged with espionage, and a third Marine from the embassy unit, Staff Sgt. Robert S. Stufflebeam, has been arrested.

In addition, it was disclosed Friday that two more Marines, whose names were not given, have been implicated in the scandal here at the embassy, where “Semper Fidelis” (Always Faithful), the Marine Corps motto, is prominently displayed.

Fashionably Attired

Seina, a tall, attractive woman, was a secretary and receptionist during her 1984-86 employment at the embassy. However, former co-workers say she bought her fashionable clothes from Dom Modi, Moscow’s ultra-expensive “house of fashion,” where a dress can cost as much as two months’ salary for a Soviet customer. She twice appeared at the annual Marine ball.

Other Americans recalled seeing off-duty Marines drinking beer with prostitutes, who were assumed to work with the KGB secret police, at the World Trade Center hotel.

A former embassy employee said she learned that some Marines who sold stereo equipment and other highly prized Western goods to Soviets at inflated prices in rubles were able to convert the rubles into dollars in the embassy at the advantageous official rate.

As a result, the ex-employee said, some Marines left Moscow with as much as $10,000 in profits from their illegal dealings.

An American military attache said he was shocked to discover that Marines in the security unit were smoking marijuana in their quarters during the 1985-86 period.

Brawled With Canadians

The Marines had a reputation for brawling, too. At one point, the U.S. ambassador sent a formal note of apology to the Canadian ambassador after Marines began a fistfight during an ice hockey-like game called “broomball” between the Marines and Canadian diplomats.

Lonetree, according to a British nanny who was familiar with the American security guards, had a reputation for fighting and drunkenness during his stint in Moscow.

Some Soviet restaurants, according to embassy sources, refused to take reservations from Marines because of their tendency to become disorderly.

Liquor flowed freely at Marine house parties, where Soviet women as well as nannies from Western countries gathered for disco-type dancing, a former participant said.

In the new embassy compound, opened recently, the Marine quarters include a built-in bar and stereo system as well as a marble-faced fireplace.

“The Marines are like kings around here,” said a former embassy employee. “They can do anything they want.”