http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/orl-shuttlespy1208feb12,0,4004944.story By Robert Block Sentinel Space Editor February 11, 2008 Federal officials Monday arrested a former Boeing engineer on charges of stealing trade secrets from the space-shuttle program, Delta IV rocket and other projects and sending them to agents of the Chinese government. In an indictment filed in California, prosecutors accused Dongfan "Greg" Chung, 72, a shuttle engineer, with acting as an agent of the Chinese in a case spanning 30 years. Chung worked for Boeing at its Huntington Beach center, where he was a stress analyst on the forward fuselage section of the space shuttle until he retired in September 2002. In a separate case out of Virginia on Monday, Justice Department officials announced the arrest of a Defense Department employee on charges of passing classified defense documents to the People's Republic of China. The arrests, while not connected directly, underscored what prosecutors described as ongoing efforts by the Chinese to gather military and commercial secrets from the United States. And China is still after U.S. missile and rocket technology, federal law-enforcement officials said, whether it's from NASA or new fledgling commercial aerospace companies because the technology can be adapted for military uses. "If it's technology and not nailed to the floor, the Chinese will try to steal it," said Rudy Guerin, a former FBI officer who chased Chinese spies until he left the Bureau in 1996. "There is no doubt that China has targeted NASA, but not just NASA. Universities and companies who work in space technology and research are also targets." As of October 2007, the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency reported that it had launched more than 540 investigations into illegal exports of controlled U.S. technology to China since 2000. In a news conference Monday, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth L. Wainstein said there were "a number of countries that have proven themselves particularly determined and methodical in their espionage efforts." "The People's Republic of China is one of those countries," he said. In court papers, prosecutors quoted letters from Chinese officials asking Chung for specific technology and praising his "patriotism." In letters to his Chinese handlers, according to the indictment, Chung said he wanted to help the "motherland" in its efforts to modernize. Using his access as an engineer at Rockwell International and then Boeing, Chung took documents containing trade secrets related to the shuttle, military and civilian airplanes and helicopters, investigators said. News of Chung's contacts with Chinese officials about the shuttle first emerged last year in a case against Chi Mak, another engineer who worked in the United States and obtained sensitive military information for China. Mak and several of his family members were convicted last year of providing information about defense systems to Beijing and are awaiting sentencing next month. During Mak's trial last year, Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Staples said that there were letters found during the investigation into Mak that tied him to Chinese official Gu Weihao, a relative of his wife's and a senior engineer at China's Ministry of Aviation Industry. Written in the late 1980s, three of the letters were discovered in Mak's home. The fourth was found in the home of Chung. In a May 2, 1987, letter, Gu introduced Mak to Chung, expressed an interest in the shuttle and explained that China wanted to develop its aviation ministry. He then wrote of Chung's upcoming trip to China: "You can discuss the time and route of your trip to China with Mr. Mak in person... You may use 'traveling to Hong Kong' or 'visiting relatives in China' as reasons for traveling abroad... Normally, if you have any information, you can also pass it on to me through Mr. Mak. This channel is much safer than the others." According to the indictment, Chung traveled to China to deliver lectures on technology involving the shuttle and other programs, and to meet with officials and agents of the government. Chung did not report his travels to Boeing or Rockwell, as required, the indictment stated. "His masters were asking for specific information about the shuttle," said Dean Boyd, spokesman for the Justice Department's National Security Division. "They would send him tasking lists." NASA has a counter-intelligence office that regularly refers suspicious activities that it thinks could be linked to foreign espionage to the FBI, Guerin said. During his time in the bureau, he said, many of the activities NASA reported turned out to be nothing. Some, however, led to investigations and were believed to have involved China. NASA officials working for its security office refused to answer questions about what kinds and how many cases they have uncovered and referred all questions to the Department of Justice. In the Virginia case, the authorities charged Gregg W. Bergersen, 51, of Alexandria with conspiracy to disclose national defense information to persons not entitled to receive it. According to the document filed by prosecutors with the federal court in Alexandria, Bergersen received payments for providing information about the projected sales of weapons and military equipment to Taiwan. Additionally, two immigrants from China and Taiwan accused of working with the defense analyst were arrested after an FBI raid Monday on a New Orleans home where one of them lived. Information from The New York Times and Bloomberg News were used in this report. Copyright 2008, Orlando Sentinel ___________________________________________________ Subscribe to InfoSec News http://www.infosecnews.org/mailman/listinfo/isn
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