John Anthony Walker

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For other persons named John Walker, see John Walker (disambiguation).

John Anthony Walker, Jr. (born July 28, 1937 in Washington D.C.)[1] is a former Warrant Officer and communications specialist for the U.S. Navy convicted for selling his services as a spy to the Soviet Union from 1968 to 1985, the height of the Cold War era.[2] Walker pleaded guilty in late 1985 as part of a plea arrangement whereby he offered testimony on co-conspirator Jerry Whitworth, provided details of his espionage activities and negotiated more lenient treatment for his son, Michael Walker.[2] During his time as a spy, Walker helped the Soviets decipher over two hundred thousand classified encrypted naval messages,[citation needed] organizing a spy operation that The New York Times reported in 1987 "is sometimes described as the most damaging Soviet spy ring in history."[3]

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[edit] Early life

Walker joined the Navy in 1955 when, arrested for burglary, he was offered the option of jail or the military.[1][4] While stationed in Boston, Walker met and married Barbara Crowley, and they had four children together, three daughters and a son. While stationed on the nuclear-powered submarine USS Andrew Jackson in Charleston, South Carolina, Walker opened a bar which immediately plunged him into debt.[1]

[edit] Spy ring

Walker began spying for the Soviets in December 1967, when, distraught over his financial difficulties, he walked into the Soviet Embassy in Washington, DC and sold a classified document (a radio cipher card) for several thousand dollars, negotiating an ongoing salary of $500 to $1,000 a week.[1] Walker has justified this betrayal on grounds the classified Navy communications data he had initially sold the Soviets was completely compromised during the USS Pueblo incident (in which a U.S. Navy communications surveillance ship was captured on the high seas by North Korea, and its crew held prisoner for nearly a year). However, a 2001 thesis presented at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College using information from Soviet archives and from Oleg Kalugin, indicates that the Pueblo incident may have taken place because the Soviets wanted to study equipment that was described by documents supplied to them by Walker.[5]

Walker persisted in his activities, receiving an income of several thousand dollars per month for supplying classified information.[1] While Walker on occasion utilized the services of his wife Barbara, he began seeking further assistance in 1969 when, stationed to teach radio operators in San Diego, California, he befriended student Jerry Whitworth.[1] Whitworth, who would go on to become a Navy senior chief radioman, agreed to assist Walker in accessing highly-classified communications data in 1973.[1] After his Navy retirement in 1976, Walker began looking more aggressively among his children and family members for assistance (Walker was now a private detective at this time). By 1984, he had recruited his older brother Arthur and his son Michael.[1]

In 1990, New York Times journalist John J. O'Connor reported that, "It's been estimated by some intelligence experts that Mr. Walker provided enough code-data information to alter significantly the balance of power between Russia and the United States".[6] Asked later how he had managed to access so much classified information, Walker said, "KMart has better security than the Navy".[7] According to a report presented to the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive in 2002, Walker is one of a handful of spies believed to have earned more than a million dollars in espionage compensation,[4] although The New York Times estimated his income at only $350,000.[6]

[edit] Arrest and imprisonment

In May 1985, the FBI were tipped off to Walker's activities by Walker's then ex-wife Barbara, whom he had refused to pay alimony.[1] Following an investigation, the FBI arrested Walker, Whitworth, Arthur Walker and Michael Walker. Ironically, Walker himself was arrested using a trick he used to catch people in adultery cases: telephoning their hotel room and telling them that their car was broken into.[1] Barbara Walker was not prosecuted because of her role in disclosing the ring.[1][4] Former KGB agent Victor Churkashin, however, details in his book "Spy Handler" that Walker was compromised by an FBI spy named Martynov, who overheard a conversation by chance in Moscow. Documents in his trial, Cherkashin argues, claimed that Martynov played a crucial role in the compromise of Walker's cover.[8]

Walker cooperated with authorities and in a plea bargain, he agreed to submit to an unchallenged conviction and life sentence, provide a full disclosure of the details of his spying and give testimony against Jerry Whitworth in exchange for a pledge from the prosecutors that his son would receive a sentence of no more than 25 years imprisonment.[9][2] All of the members of the spy ring besides Michael Walker received life sentences for their role in the espionage. Jerry Whitworth was sentenced to 365 years in prison and was fined $410,000 dollars for his involvement.

Walker's son Michael, who had a relatively minor role in the ring and turned state's evidence in exchange for a reduced sentence, was released from prison on parole in February 2000.[1]

Walker is currently BOP Prisoner number 22449-037 and is housed at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners (MCFP) in Springfield, Missouri.[10]

[edit] Further reading

  • Howard Blum; I Pledge Allegiance: The True Story of the Walkers: an American Spy Family; Simon & Schuster Books, 1987, ISBN 0-671-62614-0
  • Kneece, Jack; Family Treason: The Walker Spy Case; Paperjacks, 1988, ISBN 0-7701-0793-1
  • Robert W. Hunter; Spy Hunter: Inside the FBI Investigation of the Walker Espionage Case; Naval Institute Press, 1999, ISBN 1-55750-349-4
  • Pete Earley; Family of Spies: Inside the John Walker Spy Ring; Bantam Books, 1989, ISBN 0-553-28222-0

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Earsley, Pete. Family of spies: the John Walker Jr. spy case CourtTV Crime Library. Accessed November 16, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c Recent US Spy Case CNN. Accessed November 16, 2007.
  3. ^ Shenon, Philip. (Jan 4, 1987) In short: nonfiction. NY Times. Accessed November 16, 2007.
  4. ^ a b c Herbig, Katherine L. and Martin F. Wiskoff. (July 2002) Espionage against the United States by American citizens, 1947-2001. ONCIX website. Accessed November 16, 2007.
  5. ^ Analysis of the Systemic Security Weaknesses of the U.S. Navy Fleet Broadcasting System, 1967-1974, as Exploited by CWO John Walker (PDF) Master's thesis by Laura J. Heath
  6. ^ a b O'Connor, John J. (Feb. 4 1990) TV View; American spies in pursuit of the American dream NY Times. Accessed November 16, 2007.
  7. ^ Johnson, Reuben F. (Jul 23 2007) The ultimate export control: why F-14s are being put into a shredder The Weekly Standard. Volume 012, Issue 42. Accessed November 16, 2007.
  8. ^ Cherkashin, Victor. Spy Handler. New York: Basic Books, 2005. (Page 183)
  9. ^ Time Magazine, Belated concern, Time, Inc. (Nov. 11, 1985) Accessed November 16, 2007.
  10. ^ Federal Bureau of Prisons
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