WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A former U.S. State Department official and his wife pleaded guilty yesterday to charges that they spied for almost three decades for the Communist-led Cuban government.
Walter Kendall Myers had “top secret” clearance and, with the help of his wife Gwendolyn, gave classified information to the Cuban government, U.S. prosecutors said. They also spent an evening with then-Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 1995.
In guilty plea agreements, Kendall Myers, 72, who was known as Agent 202, agreed to a sentence of life in prison, while his wife, 71, known as Agent 123, agreed to serve as many as 7-1/2 years in prison, the Justice Department said.
“For the past thirty years, this couple betrayed America’s trust by covertly providing classified national defense information to the Cuban government,” David Kris, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement.
The couple also agreed to forfeit $1.7 million in assets, including an apartment in Washington, D.C., a 37-foot sailing yacht, a vehicle and various bank and investment accounts, the department said.