Petty Officer 3rd Class Ariel J. Weinmann
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U.S. Submariner Leaked Data
U.S. submariner Ariel Weinmann pleaded guilty to espionage in favor of some foreign state, which name he didn’t identify. Weinmann was spying for Russia, local media concluded.
Weinmann’s trial commenced on Monday in Norfolk. But before it, the sailor clinched a deal with the military tribunal, pleading guilty to attempting to transmit classified information related to national defense to a representative of some foreign government.
Weinmann, 22, told the tribunal that he had very idealized views based on the time of the World War II. The service didn’t meet his expectations and that was the reason why he deserted the Navy in July of 2005, having taken the classified data with him.
Ariel J. Weinmann joined the U.S. Navy in July of 2003, serving at Albuquerque submarine of Los Angeles class. He could have possessed information about the Tomahawk missiles that are used at such submarines. When deserting the Navy, the petty officer stole a government computer with more than 30 secret files, including the personal files of submarine officers. Weinmann managed to leave the United States to settle in Austria.
He met a representative of some foreign government in Vienna October 19, 2005. The submariner hoped to flee to that country by using the transferred information.
Weinmann thought better in March of 2006. He flew to Mexico and broke the computer. His next flight was to the United States, where he was detained in the Dallas airport. He had $4,000 in cash, three laser disks, a storage device for computer data and memory cards.
Before the deal with the judges, if convicted, Weinmann could have faced a sentence of life in prison without parole. Now he may hope to be released one day, though it won’t happen earlier than in ten years.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Dec. 06, 2006
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