December 23, 2006
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIAMI -- A Florida professor admis he has been a spy for Cuba for
nearly 30 years, and his wife -- also a professor -- said she knew of
his conduct, authorities said.
The couple entered their pleas as part of a deal to avoid a jury trial
on previous charges of being Cuban agents who failed to register with
the U.S. government, the Miami Herald reported Tuesday. (Watch what
Alvarez's lawyer says about his intentions Video)
The more serious offense could have put the couple in prison for a
decade, the paper said.
A psychology professor at Florida International University, Alvarez
faces up to five years in prison for conspiracy to become an
unregistered foreign agent.
Elsa Alvarez, who also worked at the university, faces up to three years
in prison for concealing her husband's participation in that conspiracy.
The two are scheduled to be sentenced February 27.
When arrested in January, federal prosecutors said the FBI had covertly
monitored Alvarez' ongoing communications with the Cuban Intelligence
Service.
Authorities said U.S. agents eavesdropped as Alvarez received
sophisticated communications equipment from Cuban intelligence designed
to keep his activities secret.
Alvarez acknowledged Tuesday he had worked as a Cuban covert
intelligence agent on behalf of the Havana government for nearly three
decades.
Alvarez said he had gathered and transmitted information about Cuban
exile groups to Cuban intelligence agents.
The FBI said Alvarez continued his criminal conduct until June 22, 2005,
when he admitted his activities to U.S. counterintelligence agents.
"This investigation unmasked a Cuban intelligence agent who served for
many years as an educator, all the while spying on South Florida's Cuban
exile community for his Cuban handlers," said United States Attorney for
the Southern District of Florida Alex Acosta in Miami.
In Washington, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein said the
plea "demonstrates our firm commitment to protect our country and our
citizens against the agents of foreign powers."
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