National Security A former Navy nuclear engineer and his wife have been arrested on espionage charges The FBI says Jonathan Toebbe offered to sell Navy documents to a foreign government The couple was arrested after he placed a memory card at a dead drop location in Jefferson County, West Virginia. The memory cards were devices concealed in objects such as a chewing gum wrapper and a peanut butter sandwich. Memory cards allegedly were left at "dead-drops"ĭiana Toebbe, 46, who was teaching at a private school in Maryland at the time of the couple's arrest last October, was accused of acting as a lookout at several prearranged "dead-drop" locations at which memory cards containing the secret information were left behind. Prosecutors said Jonathan Toebbe, 43, abused his access to top-secret government information and repeatedly sold details about the design elements and performance characteristics of Virginia-class submarines to someone he believed was a representative of a foreign government but who was actually an undercover FBI agent. If the court doesn't accept the latest agreement, the defendants would again have the right to withdraw their guilty pleas. Magistrate Judge Robert Trumble, the couple would each face a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $100,000 fine, although prosecutors are asking for a sentence for Diana Toebbe at the lowest end of the guideline range. Under the latest plea agreement entered Tuesday before U.S. Law The FBI is still looking for a trove of nuclear sub secrets in an espionage case The defendants would each face up to life in prison Prosecutors also sought three years for Diana Toebbe. Prosecutors said Tuesday that such a sentence would be one of the most significant imposed in modern times under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. The previous sentencing range agreed to by lawyers for Jonathan Toebbe had called for a potential punishment between roughly 12 years and 17 years in prison.
NUCLEAR SUBMARINE ENGINEER TRIAL
The couple then immediately withdrew their initial guilty pleas and Groh set trial for January. District Judge Gina Groh last month rejected the couple's initial pleas to the same charges, saying the sentencing options were "strikingly deficient" considering the seriousness of the case. Jonathan and Diana Toebbe of Annapolis, Maryland, pleaded guilty in federal court in Martinsburg, West Virginia, to one felony count each of conspiracy to communicate restricted data. Navy nuclear engineer and his wife entered new guilty pleas Tuesday in a case involving an alleged plot to sell secrets about nuclear-powered warships, a month after their previous plea agreements that had called for specific sentencing guidelines were rejected.
West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority via AP, FileĬHARLESTON, W.Va.
Diana Toebbe (left) and Jonathan Toebbe entered new guilty pleas on Tuesday in a case involving an alleged plot to sell secrets about nuclear-powered warships.
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