Ex-professor found guilty of passing AF secrets

[unhappycamper]

Ex-professor found guilty of passing AF secrets
By Duncan Mansfield - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Sep 3, 2008 15:40:33 EDT

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A federal jury convicted a retired University of Tennessee professor Wednesday of passing sensitive information from an Air Force contract to two foreign research assistants from China and Iran.

The case marked the first time the government used the Arms Export Control Act to crack down on the distribution of restricted data, not hardware, to foreigners in a university setting, prosecutors said.

Jurors deliberated about six hours over two days before finding plasma physics expert J. Reece Roth guilty on all 18 counts of conspiracy, fraud and violating the export control act. Roth and his attorney Thomas Dundon of Nashville avoided reporters outside the federal courthouse seeking comment.

The verdict “should serve as a warning to anyone who knowingly discloses restricted U.S. military data to foreign nationals,” said Patrick Rowan, acting assistant attorney general for national security.

“The illegal export of such sensitive data represents a very real threat to our national security, particularly when we know that foreign governments are actively seeking this information for their military development,” Rowan said in a statement from Washington.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/09/ap_professorguilty_090308/%2e

[DCKit]

1. No doubt they're all over that A.Q. Kahn thing too.

Indictments by close of business today, for sure.

[Blaubart]

2. Lock him up...

“The illegal export of such sensitive data represents a very real threat to our national security, particularly when we know that foreign governments are actively seeking this information for their military development,”

Agreed...