RETIREE KEPT CLOSE CIA TIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000605070038-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 4, 2012
• Sequence Number: 38
• Publication Date: November 27, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/05/04 :CIA-RDP90-009658000605070038-6
Retiree Ke t
p
Chose CIA Ties
Chin Indictment Details
Alleged 30 Years as Spy
~By Joe Pichirallo
_. Washington Post.Sta(f-Writer ----- . - -
A former Central Intelligence Agency
analyst accused of spying for China for
more than 30 years worked as a consultant
for the CIA until his arrest last week and
maintained close ties with his ex-colleagues
at the agency, according to an indictment
returned yesterday. .
The indictment, issued by a federal grand
jury in Alexandria, alleged thaE Larry Wu-
Tai Chin, 63, a former mid-level CIA em-
ploye, met with Chinese intelligence offi-
cials on at least a dozen occasions, including
a 1981 meeting with a top Chinese intelli-
gence officer.
In 1982, the indictment said, Chinese
intelligence officials conferred on Chin the
title of deputy bureau chief, presumably for
Washington. U.S. officials said they believe
this was an honorary title for Chin, who,
accordin? to the FBI, began spying for the
~~
Larry Wu-Tai Chin allegedly was paid more
than 5140,000 by Chinese intelligence agents,
Chinese even before he was hired by the
CIA in 1952,
Officials said Chin, who allegedly was
paid more than $140,000 by Chinese intel-
ligence agents, is believed to be the first
person charged with spying for the Com-
munist Chinese government in the United
States. The suspect's lawyer, Peter Mey-
WASHINGTON POST
27 November 1985
ers, said in court Saturday that his
client was innocent. "
Chin, an Alexandria resident who
retired from the CIA in 1981 as a
GS-13 intelligence officer, had ac-
cess to a broad range of classified
information in connection with his
job in the agency's Foreign Broad-
cast Information Service, according
to the indictment.. The unit moni-
tors and analyzes foreign radio
broadcasts from around the world
at its Roslyn headquarters, where
Chin worked, and elsewhere.
In addition, the indictment said,
the foreign broadcast service trans-
lates classified documents for other
branches of the CIA, which means
that Chin, who is fluent in Chinese
and English, had access to sensitive
CIA information relating to China.
A former broadcast service em-
ploye has said in an interview that
part of Chin's duties included trans-
lating documents dealing with co-
vert CIA operations in the Far East.
Chin met with the vice minister
of China's Ministry of Public Secu-
rity, the Chinese version of the So-
viet KGB, in Hong Kong and Macao
in 1981, the indictment says. "This
guy was no slouch," said one source
familiar with his alleged activities.
"He was treated royally whenever
he went over there."
Under the more relaxed policies
regarding foreign visits to China
initiated by Deng Xiaoping, the na-
tion's top leader, China has reorga-
nized its security apparatus to im-
prove its ability to catch spies. The
Ministry of Public Security, for
which Chin is accused of working,
has become a powerfal agency with
the prime responsibility for coun-
terespionage.
Much of the information about
Chin's alleged espionage activities
came from Chin, who discussed his
tivork with FBI agents, according to
,ources familiar with the investiga-
tion. Chin's arrest late Friday night
climaxed a nearly two-year FBI in-
vestigation. Officials have refused
to say how Chin's alleged activities
were uncovered.
Chin, who was born in Peking,
went to work for American govern-
ment offices overseas in 1948, afid
joined the CIA in Okinawa in 1952.
He became a naturalized U.S. cit-
izen in 1965, -four years after his
transfer to the United States. He
worked in Northern Virginia from
1970 until he retired 11 years later.
One question being raised in the
intelligence community is how
Chin's alleged activities weft un-
detected so long.
Employes of the Foreign Broad-
cast Information Service are among
the CIA employes who are sup-
posed to routinely receive poly-
graph tests, according to a source
familiar with CIA operations. [t
could not be determined whether
Chin was tested.
Chin smuggled classified CIA
documents from his office in his
briefcase and in his jacket, accord-
ing to the FBI. Between 1976 and
1982, he gave film of documents he
photographed to a courier for the
Chinese in periodic meetings at a
Toronto shopping center; according
to the indictment.
Within 10 days of his January
1981 retirement, Chin began work-
ing as a private contractor for the
Foreign Broadcast Information Ser-
vice's translating arm, and contin-
ued to do so until his arrest, the
indictment said.
During that same period, Chin
continued spying for the Chinese, the
indictment said, and in a September
1983 meeting in Hong Kong pointed
out another employe of the foreign
broadcast service as a possible spy
recruit. Chin met with Chinese in-
telligence officials in the Far East as
recently as last February and March,
according to the indictment.
Chin, who lives with his wife in
Alexandria's Watergate at Land-
mark condominiums, is being held
without bond pending a hearing be-
fore U.S. Magistrate W. Curtis
Sewell at 2 p.m. today. Assistant
U.S. Attorney Joseph Aronica, who
is prosecuting Chin, will argue that
Chin should remain in custody while
awaiting trial.
Chin is charged with one count of
conspiring to commit espionage,
which carries a maximum penalty of
life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/05/04 :CIA-RDP90-009658000605070038-6