Suspected Spy Bloch Fired From State Department Post
Felix S. Bloch, the career diplomat who was suspected of espionage, was fired Monday by Secretary of State James A. Baker III because of “deliberate false statements,” the State Department announced.
Bloch, who had been under investigation since early last year on suspicion of passing secrets to Soviet agents, was given written notice of Baker’s decision.
In a brief statement, the department said Baker found that the 55-year-old Bloch’s removal from the foreign service “was necessary because of his deliberate false statements or misrepresentations to the FBI in the course of a national security investigation.”
Bloch’s dismissal also was based on his “behavior, activities and associations,” the statement said. There was no further elaboration.
“In view of the national security aspects of this case and the privacy rights of the individual employee, the evidence against Mr. Bloch cannot be made public,” the State Department said. The department’s legal affairs office is reviewing Bloch’s pension rights.
The telephone at Bloch’s residence was answered by a machine, and he did not immediately respond to messages seeking his reaction to Baker’s decision.
On Feb. 8, the State Department suspended Bloch from his $80,700-a-year job in the European Affairs Bureau and said it would seek to fire him.
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