Weinmann pleaded guilty to trying to transmit classified information related to national defense to a representative of a foreign government on Oct. 19th, 2005 while he was in or near Vienna, Austria.
(NORFOLK, Va. ) - A Navy sailor from Salem pled guilty Monday to espionage, desertion and other charges after the Navy accused him of stealing a laptop and peddling its classified contents to an undisclosed foreign governments.
22-year-old Petty Officer 3rd Class Ariel J. Weinmann, faces a sentence of life in prison without parole, a dishonorable discharge from the Navy and forfeiture of all pay.
The Associated Press is reporting that under the plea agreement, Weinmann pleaded guilty to one count each of espionage, desertion, failing to properly safeguard and store classified information, copying classified information, communicating classified information to a person not entitled to receive it, and stealing and destroying a government computer.
Weinmann pleaded not guilty to two additional espionage counts, one accusing him of giving classified information to an agent of a foreign government in March of 2005 in Bahrain and another accusing him of trying to deliver confidential information on March 19th, 2006 in Mexico City.
Weinmann said he made copies of classified material on a laptop computer, which he brought with him to Austria. He said he printed one document and copied other information onto CDs and said he had unclassified, classified and secret information sitting on a table in his apartment in Austria.
Weinmann told the judge, who had yet to accept the plea, that he deserted the Navy in July 2005 because the service did not meet his expectations.
Weinmann, a fire control technician, had been stationed on the submarine USS Albuquerque.
He said he did not report for duty aboard his submarine on July 3rd, 2005.
He moved to Austria and never planned to come back to the United States, but changed his mind and was arrested in March at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Navy Sailor From Salem Pleads Guilty to EspionageSalem-News.com