Feds arrest octogenarian for spying for Israelis in ‘80s
WASHINGTON – Federal authorities arrested an 84-year-old former Army engineer on Tuesday for passing American military secrets to an Israeli agent in the 1980s, charges that suggest that one of the most famous spy cases in U.S. history might have been more widespread than previously known.
Ben-ami Kadish, a U.S. citizen who worked at an Army base in New Jersey, acknowledged to FBI agents in an interview last month that he had given the Israeli agent between 50 and 100 classified documents about nuclear weapons, fighter jets and missiles, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in New York.
Kadish was accused of reporting to the same Israeli government handler who was the main contact for imprisoned spy Jonathan Jay Pollard. Pollard is serving a life sentence in a federal prison in North Carolina after pleading guilty to espionage charges in 1986 in a case that roiled relations between the U.S. and Israel.
The U.S. State Department, expressing dismay about the possibility of additional spying by “friends and allies,” brought the matter to the attention of the Israeli government. Israeli Embassy spokesman David Siegel had no comment on the charges or any diplomatic fallout.
U.S. officials declined to discuss what new evidence they obtained that prompted them to target Kadish years after the alleged crimes were committed.
Kadish was charged with four counts of conspiracy, including allegations that he disclosed U.S. national defense documents to Israel and acted as an agent of the Israeli government.
According to the complaint, the documents included “information concerning nuclear weaponry” and “a major weapons system … a modified version of an F-15 fighter jet that the United States had sold to another foreign country.” Another document related to the U.S. Patriot missile air defense system, which Israel used to defend itself against Iraqi Scud missiles during the first Persian Gulf war.
Appearing in federal court Tuesday afternoon, the Connecticut-born U.S. citizen entered a plea of not guilty and was released.
According to the government court filing, Kadish told FBI agents last month that he believed that providing classified documents to the agent would help Israel. Kadish told the FBI that he received no money for obtaining the classified documents. He said the agent gave him small gifts and occasionally bought dinner for him and his family.
Kadish worked as a mechanical engineer at the U.S. Army’s Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center at the Picatinny Arsenal in Dover, N.J., from 1963 through 1990. The research center housed a library of documents, including many with classified information related to U.S. national defense.
Kadish told investigators that he was introduced to his would-be handler in the 1970s by his brother, who worked with the agent at Israeli Aircraft Industries, a defense contractor for the Israeli government. The company is now known as Israeli Aerospace Industries.