WASHINGTON —
U.S. federal authorities arrested a former Boeing engineer Feb. 11 for
allegedly giving the Chinese trade secrets related to several aerospace
programs, including the space shuttle and Delta 4 rocket.
According
to a U.S. Justice Department press release, Dongfan "Greg" Chung, 72, was
indicted by a federal grand jury Feb. 6 on eight counts of economic espionage;
one count of conspiracy to commit espionage; one count of acting as an
unregistered foreign agent; one count of obstruction of justice; and three
counts of making false statements to the FBI.
FBI agents arrested Chung at
his Orange, Calif., home without incident. He was flown to Washington, where he
was expected to make his initial court appearance.
Chung was
identified by the Justice Department as native of China and a naturalized U.S.
citizen who worked for Rockwell International from 1973 until Boeing acquired
Rockwell's defense and space unit in 1996. Chung retired from Boeing in 2002,
but returned as a contractor and continued to work on the shuttle program at
Boeing's Huntington Beach, Calif., facility until September 2006.
According
to the indictment, Chung held a Secret security clearance during his time on
the space shuttle program. Although he also is accused of passing secrets to
the Chinese related to the Delta
4 rocket and C-17 cargo plane, Chung never worked on either of those
programs, according to the indictment.
"Mr. Chung
is accused of stealing restricted technology that had been developed over many
years by engineers who were sworn to protect their work product because it
represented trade secrets. Disclosure of this information to outside entities
like the [People's Republic of China] would compromise our national security,"
U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said in a written statement.
According
to the indictment, Chung began receiving "tasking" letters from individuals in
the Chinese aviation industry as early as 1979 directing him to collect
specific technological information about the space shuttle and various military
and civilian aircraft. In one written response, according to the Justice
Department, Chung expressed a desire to serve the "motherland."
Chung also
allegedly sent various letters to Chinese officials referencing engineering
manuals he had collected on their behalf, including 24 internal company
documents relating to the B-1 bomber.
Among the
other sensitive information Chung allegedly shared with Chinese officials were
documents relating to a phased-array antenna Boeing was developing as a space shuttle upgrade in the
mid-1990s and detailed technical descriptions of the Delta 4's pre-launch
fueling processes.
The
indictment also alleges that Chung exchanged letters with Chinese officials
discussing cover stories for his travels to China and methods for passing
information, including suggestions that he use his wife, an artist, to transmit
information.
The
indictment and arrest follows a joint investigation by the FBI and NASA.
Dan Beck, a
spokesman for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems of St. Louis, would not comment
on Chung's arrest. He also said Boeing is not a focus of the investigation but
"has been cooperating with the government throughout."
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