Jeffrey Carney
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jeffrey Carney - Former U.S. Air Force intelligence specialist convicted of spying for East Germany.
Contents |
[edit] Summary
One of the Stasi's most successful spies, code-named "The Kid", Carney handed over U.S. military documents while working in West Berlin for the Air Force. Carney was apprehended in 1991 in East Berlin on charges of espionage after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
[edit] Biography
Carney entered the Air Force in December 1980. From April 1982 to April 1984 he was stationed at Tempelhof Central Airport in Berlin and assigned to the 6912th Electronic Security Group, Electronic Security Command (Marienfelde) where he was a linguist and intelligence specialist. The 6912 ESG worked for NSA and eavesdropped on communications of Eastern Bloc countries.
[edit] Alienation
Carney, a homosexual, had apparently become disillusioned with the Air Force, and there are several stories of him attemtping to turn in his badge and quit. He later claimed to have been lonely, alienated, and under psychological stress, and he felt he had no one to talk to about his problems. He had intended to defect to East Germany on his first crossing, but he allowed himself to be drawn into espionage by East German agents who expertly manipulated him and claimed his complete loyalty.
[edit] Spying
While at Tempelhof, Carney began copying classified documents which he then provided to the East German Ministry for State Security (Stasi) by repeatedly crossing back and forth into East Berlin. In 1984 he was transferred to Goodfellow AFB in Texas where he worked as a language instructor while continuing to spy for East Germany. In 1985, perhaps fearing that he would be caught for his espionage activities, he deserted the Air Force and defected to East Germany. There he continued to aid the communist government by intercepting and translating official telephone communications of US military commanders and embassy officials in Berlin.
[edit] Lifestyle And Recognition
One of these East German agents was assigned to be Carney's handler, and the two eventually began a homosexual relationship. During the course of his spying, Carney provided the Stasi with more than a hundred top-secret U.S. military documents. For his services to East Germany, he was awarded the NVA medal of honor in bronze and the medal of "Waffenbrüderschaft" in gold.
[edit] Arrest
The break in the case came after the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, when many Stasi records became available to foreign investigators. In April 1991 he was arrested by Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) agents at his residence in what used to be in the Soviet sector of Berlin. Eyewitnewesses report that Carney was kidnapped in the middle of the day by AFOSI agents. Carney himself has also said that he was abducted from his home by US Government agents.
[edit] Conviction
After being extensively debriefed, Carney pleaded guilty to charges of espionage, conspiracy, and desertion and was sentenced in December 1991 to 38 years in prison. Carney served his sentence at the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Carney was released in 2003, after serving 11 years of what eventually became a reduced sentence of 20 years.
[edit] Later life
After his release from prison, Carney attemtped to return to Germany claiming that he was German. However, as East Germany had ceased to exist and since his passport had expired, German authorities refused to grant him a passport.
Carney is believed to currently be living in Ohio.
[edit] Sources
"Germany Denies Passport To Ex-Spy", Washington Times, Tony Paterson
“US Spy Gets 38 Years”, Cincinnati Post, 21 Dec 1991
“Ex-Intelligence Specialist Guilty of Spying”, Air Force Times, 6 Jan 1992
“Nobody Wants the American Who Gave Secrets to the Stasi”, The Telegraph (UK), 7 Jul 2003
"No Country More Beautiful", Jurgen Dahlkamp, Spiegel Online International, July 14, 2003
