A U.S. soldier was sentenced Tuesday to 19 years in prison and dishonorable discharge for trying to sell military secrets to the Russians, Reuters reports.
Specialist William Millay, of Owensboro, Kentucky, was a military policeman assigned to the 164th Military Police Company at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.
On Oct. 28, 2011, he was arrested after offering information to a woman called Natalia, whom he thought was a representative of the Russian government. "Natalia" was actually an FBI agent.
"Millay betrayed his nation's trust by attempting to sell classified national defense information for profit to a foreign nation," Deirdre Fike, agent in charge of the FBI's Anchorage office, said in a statement.
He was under investigation by the FBI, Army counterintelligence, and the Air Force.
Millay pleaded guilty to charges including attempted espionage, failure to obey regulations, making false statements, and communicating defense information.
Prosecutors in the case painted Millay as a white supremacist who was fed up with the Army and the United States.
FBI Special Agent Derrick Chriswell told the Associated Press (AP) that Millay came under suspicion after trying to contact the Russian government through email and phone calls.
From AP:
Chriswell testified that during the first meeting with the agent, Millay "expressed his disgust with the U.S. military." They then moved to the agent's hotel room, where audio and video recording devices were in place.
Millay, 24, said he'd work for the Russian government, and if they made it worth his while, he'd re-enlist for a second five-year stint. He also said he had confidential information on the Warlock Duke jamming system the U.S. military uses to sweep roadside bombs.
A base public affairs officer told CNN there was no transfer of information.
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