Defense employee guilty of spying for China

• Story Highlights
• Policy expert at U.S. Defense Department pleads guilty to espionage
  
• William Bergersen, 51, charged with conspiracy to give defense info to China
  
• Bergersen allegedly got gifts, cash and money for gambling
  
• Espionage charges pending against alleged co-conspirators
  

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A weapons policy expert at the U.S. Defense Department pleaded guilty Monday to an espionage charge involving disclosing national defense information to China, federal officials said.

William Bergersen, 51, of Alexandria, Virginia, was arrested in February and charged with conspiracy to illegally disclose national defense information to unauthorized individuals.

Bergersen was a weapons systems policy analyst at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, a Defense Department agency in Arlington, Virginia.

"Every day, dedicated men and women throughout government serve our nation with honor and dignity. Mr. Bergersen chose a different path -- a path of dishonor -- that is deeply disappointing," said U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg.

Espionage charges are pending against alleged co-conspirators Tai Shen Kuo, 58, and Yu Xin Kang, 33, both of whom remain held without bond.

According to court filings, Bergersen provided national defense information on numerous occasions between March 2007 and February 2008 to Kuo, a New Orleans, Louisiana, businessman.

Much of the information involved U.S. military sales to Taiwan and was classified at the "secret" level, authorities said. During the course of the conspiracy, Kuo allegedly cultivated a friendship with Bergersen, giving him gifts, cash, dinners and money for gambling during trips to Las Vegas, Nevada.

Kuo allegedly passed the information along to a Chinese government official without Bergersen's knowledge, authorities said.

In some of his meetings with Kuo, Bergersen cautioned the information he was providing was classified, authorities said.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/31/espionage.plea/