LOS ANGELES : Ex-FBI Agent Loses Appeal of Espionage Conviction
Richard W. Miller, the only FBI agent ever convicted of espionage, lost a bid Wednesday to overturn his 1990 conviction, which he said was won using improperly obtained evidence.
In a unanimous opinion, three judges of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals--Robert R. Beezer, Alex Kozinski and Andrew J. Kleinfield--found that Miller’s 1984 confession was not coerced, as he claimed. Among other things, Miller argued that he had been improperly influenced by Special Agent Richard T. Breitzing, the agent in charge of the investigation.
On Sept. 24, 1984, Breitzing, who was a bishop in the Mormon Church, spoke to Miller, an agent in Los Angeles. During that session, Breitzing reminded Miller, who also was a Mormon, that his religious beliefs required him to confess and make restitution for any wrongful act.
Two days later, Miller confessed to passing classified material to Svetlana Ogorodnikova, a Soviet contact with whom he was romantically involved.
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