Couple accused of being Cuban spies to remain in jail
BY LESLEY CLARK
lclark@MiamiHerald.com
Former State Department employee Walter Kendall Myers and his wife,
Gwendolyn Myers, accused last week of being Cuban spies, will be held in
custody until their trial because prosecutors consider the couple ''a
serious flight risk,'' a U.S. magistrate in Washington decided Wednesday.
The magistrate sided with federal prosecutors who argued during the
detention hearing that the Myerses are accomplished sailors who own a
''seaworthy'' vessel. Prosecutors said that if the couple fled to Cuba,
the court -- and the U.S. government -- would have no authority to get
them back.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Michael Harvey also noted that the
Myerses could seek refuge in the Cuban Interests Section in Washington,
D.C., which he said was less than three miles from their apartment.
Harvey said the couple has the means to leave as well, noting that
Walter Kendall Myers has an inheritance and $500,000 in investments.
The couple attended the hearing in blue jail uniforms, listening
intently as Harvey said they could pose a ''real and present danger . .
. to the United States.'' He added that Fidel Castro had expressed
praise for them in a weekend column and that the Myerses ''would be
greeted as heroes -- they would not be coming back'' if they made it to
Cuba.
An attorney representing the Myerses, Tom Green, asked that they be
allowed to stay home under law enforcement supervision with ankle
bracelets. He said the sailboat could be ``disabled.''
''Conditions could be fashioned'' to allow them out of jail, he said,
noting that Walter Kendall Myers is a ``lifelong resident of the
District of Columbia.''
The couple has been held without bond since pleading not guilty Friday
to charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and acting as illegal agents for
the government in Havana.
Prosecutors allege Cuba recruited Myers after a 1978 trip to the island
and that, over the years, Myers and his wife traveled to Mexico, the
Caribbean, South America and New York, meeting with Cuban agents to
divulge U.S. secrets.
They say the couple kept in touch with their Cuban handlers via a
shortwave radio -- the same make as the one owned by convicted Cuban spy
Ana Belen Montes. In court documents, Myers is quoted as saying he was
so successful he received ''lots of medals'' from the Cuban government
and that he and his wife enjoyed a rare private meeting in 1995 with
Fidel Castro.
Their trips out of the United States tapered off after 2005, when Myers
began to get ''paranoid'' that he was on a watch list. He retired from
the State Department in 2007, but U.S. prosecutors say the Cuban
Intelligence Service kept in touch via e-mail, asking to meet the couple
in Mexico.
The State Department is conducting a review to determine what Myers may
have divulged to the Cubans, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton said she has ordered a security review to prevent a repeat of
what she called an ''outrageous violation'' of Myers' oath to serve.
The arrests come as President Barack Obama has sought to improve
relations with Havana and observers suggest it could hamper the
resumption of planned migration talks between the two countries.
On Wednesday, Harvey called the government case ''very strong'' -- but
Green noted more serious charges of espionage haven't been filed,
calling the government's case ``somewhat embellished.''
The magistrate asked the federal lawyers whether the government would be
adding espionage to the charges.
Harvey said the investigation is continuing. He said investigators have
access to computer files, ``and that we may well be looking at
additional charges against the Myerses.''
During the hearing, Walter Kendall Myers, wearing glasses, stroked his
mustache with an index finger. He sat with his hands folded across his
chest for most of the argument. His wife sat next to him, fingers laced
in front of her on the table, sitting up straight.
Green said the Myerses have four children between them. Gwendolyn Myers'
son, Brad, was in the front row for the hearing.
Miami Herald staff writer Carol Rosenberg contributed to this report.
Couple accused of being Cuban spies to remain in jail - Breaking News -
MiamiHerald.com (10 June 2009)
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1090511.html
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