February 11, 2008
DOD Analyst Netted In Chinese Espionage Ring
Gregg William Bergersen, 51, of Alexandria, Va., has been charged with passing on classified information he obtained as a Pentagon employee to two Chinese spies.
According to the Justice Department, Bergersen traded secret documents on the U.S. space program and military sales with Taiwan, an enemy of China, to Tai Shen Kuo and Yu Xin Kang both of New Orleans. The Washington Post reports that the trio met at various times in "Northern Virginia, Charleston, South Carolina and Las Vegas."
Bergersen, a weapons policy analyst at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, faces up to 10 years in prison.
In a separate case, Dongfan "Greg" Chung, 72, a former Boeing engineer, was also charged with stealing secrets for China.
Chinese espionage has escalated in recent years, as the communist giant has rapidly amassed economic and military power. In 2005, Time reported that the number of Chinese espionage cases stemming from Silicon Valley was rising 20 percent to 30 percent every year.
Last year, FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress that Chinese espionage was a growing problem for the bureau. The FBI established a branch office in Beijing to counter those threats.
In 2004, PBS' "Frontline" examined China's stepped-up efforts to steal American secrets.
