ESPIONAGE INQUIRY
FBI investigated ex-defense official for espionage
A former Department of Defense official accused of lying about a trip to
Cuba was also investigated for espionage -- but never charged -- by the FBI.
By JUAN O. TAMAYO
jtamayo@MiamiHerald.com
Alberto Coll, a Cuban American who lost a senior job at the Navy War
College after he was convicted of lying about a trip to Havana, was also
investigated for espionage, according to an FBI document.
Coll was never charged with espionage, and has long denied any
wrongdoing beyond the 2004 trip, which he declared was to see a sick
aunt. His lawyer acknowledged he had visited a ``girlfriend.''
Five years after the trip, the Department of Justice refuses to release
details of the investigation of the former deputy assistant secretary of
defense, saying the files are classified as ``Secret.''
In a response to a Miami Herald request for all FBI records on his case,
a bureau official wrote an Aug. 25 declaration explaining why the
documents were classified.
``Specifically, the FBI's investigation focused on espionage and
censorship in violation 18 USC 793, fraud and false statements in
violation of 18 USC 1001 and foreign registration act'' wrote David M.
Hardy, head of the Record/Information Dissemination section at FBI
headquarters' Records Management Division.
The ``foreign registration act'' requires agents of foreign governments
to register with the State Department, and is sometimes used to accuse
spies.
Coll told The Miami Herald in a telephone interview Wednesday that he
was aware of how the investigations into his actions began, but insisted
he did nothing wrong other than lying about the visit.
``We have known that's the kind of investigation the government
started,'' Coll said. ``In the case of Cuba, the [U.S.] government is
going to investigate everything, including the possibility of espionage.
. . Obviously, at the end of the day, there was no evidence.''
Coll, who was born in Cuba in 1955 and came to the United States in
1969, served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for special
operations and low intensity conflicts under President George H. Bush,
and later as head of the strategic studies department at the Navy War
College in Rhode Island. He held a secret clearance in both jobs.
PLEADING GUILTY
On June 7, 2005, he pleaded guilty to the charge of lying about his trip
to Cuba. He was sentenced to one year's probation and received a $5,000
fine, left the War College and now teaches at DePaul University College
of Law in Chicago. The majority of people accused of illegal travel to
Cuba face fines, not criminal charges.
Although he was perceived as a conservative when he worked at the
Pentagon, while at the War College he often advocated for improved U.S.
relations with Cuba. After his conviction, he continued to argue for
easing or lifting U.S. sanctions on the island.
A month after his conviction, The Miami Herald filed a request under the
Freedom of Information Act for all documents related to his case held by
the Justice Department. The department answered that no documents could
be released because of Coll's right to privacy.
The Herald filed suit in U.S. court in Miami arguing that the documents
were part of a criminal investigation that should be made public; that
Coll has a much diminished right to privacy because his government jobs
and advocacy on Cuba issues makes him a public figure; and that the
investigation relates to his position as a public figure.
PAPERS UNDER SEAL
The Justice Department turned over several documents to Judge Adalberto
Jordan last year, but asked they be kept under seal for his review on
what documents or parts of documents could be made public. And on Aug.
25 the department filed a memorandum arguing a broad range of reasons
for why no part of the documents should be made public.
Among those reasons were the need to protect: the privacy of Coll and
others; ``the interest of national security or foreign policy;''
``internal personnel rules and practices of a [government] agency;''
confidential sources and information; techniques and procedures for law
enforcement investigations and prosecutions; personnel and medical files.
``In the absence of bad faith, or some other compelling showing that
there has been an abuse of discretion, Court should not second guess the
agency's judgement,'' the memo added.
In a 2006 book, Washington Times defense writer Bill Gertz described
Coll as ``an apparent spy'' and said officials had told him they
believed Coll had been ``recruited'' by Cuba. The book, Enemies: How
America's Foes are Stealing Our Vital Secrets and How We Let it Happen,
offers no evidence and doesn't say Coll leaked any secrets.
``The FBI has a job to do. . . investigate wild, scandalous
allegations,'' said Coll's Rhode Island defense attorney, Francis
Flanagan. ``Simply put, if you investigate someone for murder and they
are not found culpable, they call that an innocent man.''
FBI investigated ex-defense official for espionage - Cuba -
MiamiHerald.com (8 September 2009)
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/cuba/story/1222412.html
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