THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 29, 1996 TAG: 9610290282
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 43 lines
A Navy court-martial panel sentenced a Navy enlisted man Monday to life in prison for his attempt last spring to sell military secrets to the Russians.
Petty Officer 1st Class Kurt G. Lessenthien, 30, a former submarine crewman and nuclear power school instructor, pleaded guilty Sept. 20 to attempted espionage and failure to properly safeguard classified material.
All but 27 years of the life sentence were suspended as part of Lessenthien's plea agreement. He also received a dishonorable discharge, was reduced to the lowest pay grade, and will forfeit all pay and benefits.
Lessenthien has said he thought he could prevent his wife from leaving him if he sold the secrets and used the money to pay off $25,000 in debts.
But a Navy prosecutor said Lessenthien did it for money and excitement, not love.
Lessenthien's sentencing hearing before three officers and three enlisted men began Wednesday at Norfolk Naval Station, where most of it was being held behind closed doors for national security reasons.
Lessenthien enlisted in 1984 and was a machinist's mate on four submarines. He was an instructor at the Navy's Nuclear Power School in Orlando, Fla., when he was arrested in April after selling classified nuclear submarine information to an undercover FBI agent.
Navy prosecutor Lt. Cmdr. Chris Reismeier told the jury Friday that Lessenthien had been storing classified information since 1991.
Reismeier said Lessenthien contacted the embassy of a foreign government March 18 and offered to provide classified information. Reismeier declined to identify the country, but U.S. government officials have said it was Russia.
The day after the call, an FBI agent posing as a spy from that government contacted Lessenthien. Lessenthien mailed the agent two packages containing classified materials, the prosecutor said.
Lessenthien met with the agent April 22 at an Orlando motel, where he was arrested. Lessenthien was paid a total of $11,000 for the information, Reismeier said. MEMO: Staff Writer Lynn Waltz contributed to this report.
KEYWORDS: SPY ESPIONAGE SENTENCING COURT-MARTIAL by CNB