The FBI has all but abandoned hopes of prosecuting career diplomat Felix S. Bloch on espionage charges after an extensive seven-month investigation uncovered no solid evidence, a published report said Saturday.
Citing unnamed sources familiar with the case, the Los Angeles Times said that neither a federal grand jury that heard evidence from an Austrian prostitute linked to Bloch or an FBI probe of his finances yielded sufficient evidence.But the Times said the State Department is expected to move soon to take him off its payroll. He has continued to draw his $78,600 annual salary since his suspension June 22.
The FBI had suspected the veteran State Department official accepted payments from the Soviets in exchange for U.S. government secrets, the sources said.
Failure to bring charges would leave unknown the extent of damage allegedly caused to national security and renew questions about the fairness of treatment of Bloch by the government, which officially acknowledged suspicions against him.
Federal agents sharply cut back their surveillance of Bloch earlier this month.
"This is coming out the worst possible way," an unnamed official told the Times. "The bureau is criticized for heavy-handedness for the public surveillance that was maintained primarily to stop him from disappearing. And (bringing) no charges makes the FBI look like the guilty party."
The FBI's surveillance of Bloch made him a media event as agents monitored his movements around the clock. Bloch and his government "shadows" were often trailed by a pack of reporters and cameramen.
Bloch's lawyer, John M. Bray, and official spokesmen for the FBI and Justice Department all declined comment, the Times said.
If no charges are filed, the government must undergo a procedural gamut to fire Bloch. He could request administrative hearings to block his dismissal and file appeals in federal court.
Bloch, a 30-year veteran of the Foreign Service, served as the second-ranking officer at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna until he returned to the State Department in 1987 to head the office handling regional affairs for the European Community. He had wide access to U.S. secrets in both jobs.