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Spy of the Month

February 2008

John Anthony Walker

John Walker is a man who sold out his country during a time of crisis. In 1968, he walked into the Russian Embassy in Washington DC and volunteered to spy for the Russians (he was stationed at Norfolk, Virginia at the time). He had access to teletype traffic that contained various information from birthday greetings to top-secret information on ships, armaments, listening and tracking devices, jet fighters on aircraft and contingency battle plans. For providing this information, Walker was giving $4,000 per month, far exceeding his enlisted pay. Upon Walker's transfer to San Diego in 1969, his access dropped to secret (he was in charge of the radioman school) and so did his monthly pay from the Soviets, to $2,000. He did have access to intelligence information and naval orders, which he passed. It was while Walker was in San Diego, that he decided to recruit his friend, Jerry Whitworth to assist him in his activities.

Walker managed to get stationed on the Niagra Falls, where he managed to photograph the ship's cryptographic material from it's code machine. The Soviet's thought his information was so good, his payments were back up to $4,000. It should be remembered that during this timeframe, the United States entered into the Vietnam Conflict and the Russians were sided with the North Vietnamese. It is highly likely the North Vietnamese were able to read some U.S. secure traffic on a real-time basis. Furthermore, Walker was able to "doctor" his own security background paperwork, making it seem he had received his five-year update, when in fact, he had not. At the time, before global automation, it was much easier to fake official documents which are tracked by different agencies.

Walker would contact his "handlers" by utilizing dead drops. He would put the information he was selling into a garbage bag, with no food-smelling odors to attract animals, and place the bag in prearranged places in the Virginia and Maryland countryside. He would then proceed to another prearranged place to pick up his money, thereby not meeting any KGB officers in the U.S.

Due to the fact Walker was retiring in 1975 (he feared faking another background check), he managed to recruit Whitworth into becoming an active agent. There can be no doubt Whitworth knew where the information was going and what type of damage he was committing against the United States. Whitworth had access to Naval satellite information, which he passed to Walker. Whitworth, at times, would put the classified information into his briefcase and walk out of the secure area to a specially-equipped van in the parking lot. Inside that van, Whitworth would photograph the classified documents during his lunch hour and take the documents back to the secure area at the end of his hour.

Walker did manage to convince the Soviets to provide him with a lump sum payment of $200,000, which he split with Whitworth. This was used as an inducement to Whitworth to re-enlist, as he had anticipated retiring. Walker also managed to convince his brother, Arthur Walker, to provide information, although the information Arthur had was considerably less significant impact on the U.S. Whitworth was reassigned and his access to classified was dramatically reduced. This caused Walker's finances to dry up, due to his lavish spending he had not saved any of his ill-gotten gains. Walker attempted to get his daughter, Laura, who had enlisted in the Army, to provide him with secrets, however she refused. Walker then got his son, Michael Lance Walker, to enlist in the Navy for the express purpose of stealing classified information he could sell to the Soviets. Michael began stealing classified documents in 1983, while a seaman aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier Nimitz. Michael delivered classified documents to his father on a regular basis when the ship docked, a short time later his father would give him $1,000.

In 1984 Whitworth re-surfaced and attempted to become an active agent again. Apparently his lavish lifestyle could not be supported without the added income from the Soviets. Walker did not need Whitworth any longer, as Whitworth did not have access to the type of information Michael did. Whitworth was bitter over his inability to re-infilitrate the spy ring and wrote an anonymous letter to the FBI, stating there was a major American spymaster stealing Navy secrets for years.

Walker had been divorced from his wife, Barbara, for many years. Barbara was an alcoholic who remained bitter toward her ex-husband. On Nov 29, 1984, Barbara called the FBI to report her ex-husband as a spy. An FBI agent did talk to Barbara in person, however, he did not find her to be credible. When Walker's daughter, Laura, called the FBI to find out the status of the case, she was also not believed. It was not until an agent received another copy of the report that an active investigation ensued. On Oct 28, 1985, Walker pled guilty to espionage charges under a plea agreement. The agreement was for leniency regarding his son, Michael. The following are the sentences for the "Walker Spy Ring:"

John Anthony Walker - Two life terms, plus ten years, to be served concurrently Michael Lance Walker - 25 years (Michael was released from prison in Feb 2000) Arthur James Walker - Three life terms and fined $250,000 Jerry Alfred Whitworth - 365 years and a fine of $410,000

References:

Family of Spies: Inside the John Walker Spy Ring, New York: Bantam Books, 1988
Spy Hunter: Inside the FBI Investigation of the Walker Espionage Case, Annapolis, MD: U.S. Naval Institute Press, 1999
Family Treason: The Walker Spy case. Briar Cliff Manor, NY: Stein & Day, 1986
Merchants of Treason: American's Secrets for Sale. New York: Delacorte, 1988