Former FBI agent Richard W. Miller was in prison on the fifth anniversary of his arrest even though his conviction and life sentence for conspiring to commit espionage for the Soviet Union have been dismissed.
"I think there's something very wrong with a system that allows a man to be held five years without a fair trial," Miller's attorney, Stanley Greenberg, said.A 20-year FBI veteran, Miller was arrested five years ago Monday. He was subsequently convicted - after two trials - on charges of delivering secret U.S. documents to his lover, Svetlana Ogorodnikov. His first trial ended in a hung jury.
U.S. District Judge David Kenyon sentenced Miller to two life terms plus 50 years.
But in April, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the conviction, ruling that Kenyon had erred in allowing lie detector evidence during the 1985-86 trial. The panel ordered a new trial for Miller.
In July, Kenyon refused a defense motion to release Miller on bail pending the outcome of a government appeal. Kenyon ruled that Miller was a flight risk.
In August, the appeals court refused to reconsider its decision. U.S. attorneys had the choice of appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court or prosecuting again in district court.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Haymen, who helped prosecute Miller, did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment Monday.
Miller, the only FBI agent ever convicted of espionage, spends his time in prison taking computer classes and waiting to see whether the government will try him again.
"He seems to be holding up better than you or I would," Greenberg said. "He is a very stoic kind of fellow who takes what comes his way, or goes with the flow, to use one of his expressions."
At his trials, prosecutors depicted Miller as a bitter and vengeful man who was repeatedly reprimanded for ineptitude on the job. They said Miller was easily recruited the summer of 1984 by Svetlana and her husband, Nikolay Ogorodnikov, Soviet emigres living in Los Angeles.
On Sept. 27, 1984, Miller walked into an FBI office and confessed to a relationship with Mrs. Ogorodnikov. He contended that he was trying to redeem his career by infiltrating the Soviet KGB.
For the next four days, testimony revealed, Miller underwent grilling by FBI agents while Mrs. Ogorodnikov made frantic calls to his Lynwood home and FBI offices in Los Angeles and Santa Ana, trying to find him.
The two had planned a trip to Vienna to meet with Soviet agents, prosecutors charged.
He was placed under arrest Oct. 2, 1984.
The Ogorodnikovs, as co-defendants, pleaded guilty and are serving time in federal prison.
Greenberg said he was confident Miller would get a new trial or reach a "realistic solution" with the government.
"I think the government has always blown this case far out of proportion to what it really is," Greenberg said.
From prison, Miller writes frequently to his children, most of whom have struck out on their own since his arrest, Greenberg said.
Greenberg said he receives "nice phone calls and Christmas cards" from the Ogorodnikovs.
"Nikolay's very excited. He thinks he's going to get a new trial if Miller gets his again. But he pleaded guilty," Greenberg said. "His biggest crime was being married to Svetlana."