THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 26, 1995 TAG: 9505260500
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
A naval officer facing espionage charges for giving classified information to the Saudi Arabian military believed he was merely helping a U.S. ally.
``He is one of these people who wants to please. He worked side-by-side with the Saudis and saw no harm in passing them this information,'' said a naval officer familiar with the case.
However, Lt. Cmdr. Michael Stephen Schwartz, a 43-year-old former enlisted man now serving as a surface warfare officer, faces serious accusations.
He is charged with four counts of espionage for violating national security regulations between November 1992 and September 1994 while assigned as a liaison officer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He also faces five counts of violating federal regulations for allegedly taking classified material home and a separate charge of making false statements to investigators.
The most serious charge of espionage is potentially punishable by death. However, even if the charges result in a court martial, few legal officials believe the Navy will seek capital punishment.
``He didn't get anything out of this: no money, no sex, nothing as far as anyone can tell,'' said one officer.
``He's not a spy. This was not big espionage. I think little espionage fits the definition. I don't think he was trying to be subversive, or sell out the country, or anything.''
The Navy heavily censored the official charge sheets that detail what Schwartz is accused of doing. They do state in various passages that the information he allegedly passed to the Saudis included classified message traffic, a series of military intelligence digests, intelligence advisories and tactical intelligence summaries.
The documents were classified up to the ``secret'' level, not ``top secret,'' and specified that no disclosure to foreign governments was authorized.
Schwartz, who is not in custody, has been temporarily reassigned to Norfolk to await the outcome of a military hearing that will decide whether he is to be court-martialed. No date has been set for the hearing.
A native of Tucson, Ariz., Schwartz grew up in El Paso, Texas, and graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso. He initially was an enlisted member from 1970 to 1972, working as a radar operator on the carrier Coral Sea.
He was commissioned in 1980 through the Navy's Officer Candidate School program at Newport, R.I.
Schwartz's 25-year naval career included several short tours of duty aboard a variety of ships: the guided-missile destroyer Hoel, amphibious assault ship Belleau Wood, cruiser Princeton and frigate McCandless. His shore assignments included the Surface Warfare School, the Naval Academy, Fleet Training Center in San Diego, the Middle East Force during Desert Shield operations, the Atlantic Fleet Surface Force and Atlantic Fleet Training Command, both in Norfolk, and the military training mission in Saudi Arabia.
He served in Saudi Arabia from 1992 until November 1994, when he was temporarily reassigned to nearby Bahrain with an administrative support unit while his investigation continued. Schwartz was brought to Norfolk this month.
He is authorized to wear the Bronze Star Medal, Navy Commendation Medal and Southwest Service Medal. He is married.
KEYWORDS: ESPIONAGE SPIES SAUDI ARABIA
ARREST U.S. NAVY by CNB