A panel of U.S. officers sentenced an Army electronic warfare specialist to 30 years in prison Saturday on espionage and related charges for passing classified information to the East Bloc.
Spec. 4 Michael A. Peri, of Laguna Niguel, Calif., was also dishonorably discharged by the court-martial panel of five officers, which deliberated for two hours. The panel said Peri's prison sentence could be cut to 25 years by an out-of-court settlement.The 21-year-old soldier broke into tears and begged the court to forgive him, saying he wanted to remain in the Army and fight on the front lines in case war broke out.
Michael Graham, who led the prosecution, said Peri deserved a life sentence. "What Peri did is a far worse crime than murder," Graham said.
Peri left his base in Fulda Feb. 21 with a laptop computer and drove to the East German border in a military jeep, according to testimony at the court-martial. He scaled the border fences and reported to East German authorities, who drove him to East Berlin, where he was questioned by East German and Soviet officials.
Peri gave the Soviets and East Germans information on plans for the defense of his regiment, the 11th Armored Cavalry, which is responsible for surveillance of a section of the East-West German border, prosecutors said.
Peri returned to his base and turned himself in to his superiors March 4 after returning to West Germany through Austria.
The electronic warfare specialist pleaded guilty Wesdnesday to charges of espionage, being absent without leave, entering the East German border area without authorization and appropriating a military jeep and a laptop computer.
Peri was represented by two military and two civilian attorneys and his parents flew in from the United States to attend the proceedings.
Michael Christiansen, who led the defense, said Peri was confused and the information he had given the East Bloc officials was not as important as the prosecution claimed.
Peri was responsible for intercepting radar and other non-communication signals at the base located in a key region near the East German border known as the "Fulda Gap."
U.S. officials have not revealed exactly what information Peri passed to the East Bloc, but said he had access to classified information he needed to perform his duties.
The last defection from the U.S. Army in Europe was in 1987 when Pvt. Wade E. Roberts went to Moscow with his German girlfriend. Roberts turned himself over to military officials in West Germany eight months later and was discharged for bad conduct.