A former U.S. Army engineer has been arrested and accused of passing American military secrets to Israel during the 1980s. VOA's Michael Bowman has details from Washington.
The Department of Justice says federal authorities arrested Ben-Ami Kadish, a U.S. citizen and mechanical engineer, on charges of taking part in a conspiracy to disclose national defense information to Israel.
Kadish, formerly employed at the U.S. Army's Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center in New Jersey, is accused of taking classified material to his home, where an unnamed Israeli contact would photograph the documents. The espionage is said to have taken place between 1980 and 1985, and included material related to America's nuclear deterrent as well as major non-nuclear defense systems.
U.S. authorities made the announcement in New York, where Kadish was expected to appear in federal court. Kadish is charged with four counts of wrongdoing, including conspiring to disclose documents related to U.S. national defense and conspiring to act as an agent of the government of Israel.
Kadish's alleged Israeli contact is believed to be the same handler who received information from convicted Pentagon spy Jonathan Pollard, who is serving a prison term for spying for Israel.
Kadish has yet to be convicted of wrongdoing and is considered innocent until proven guilty.
