Belated Concern

One key to a spy's success is skill as an actor: he must pretend to be what he is not. In a federal court in Baltimore last week, John Walker Jr., 48, whose espionage work for the Soviet Union had gone undetected for nearly 20 years, took on his most difficult role: that of compassionate father. "Mr. Walker was more concerned for his son's future than his own," Defense Attorney Fred Bennett told U.S. District Judge Alexander Harvey II. "I want to do everything I can to help my son Michael," the confessed spymaster and former Navy warrant officer told his lawyer.

Such paternal concern was a bit late. Before he was caught by the FBI last May, John Walker had enticed his son, 23, into stealing secret documents from the U.S. Navy so that the father could sell the papers to Soviet agents. He also tried to coax his daughter Laura, 25, into the family spy ring while she served as a communications specialist in the Army, but she refused. John had recruited his brother Arthur, 50, a former Navy officer, to supply secrets about Navy ship vulnerabilities from a defense contractor in Chesapeake, Va. Arthur pleaded guilty in August and is awaiting sentencing.

Having compromised his family and country, John entered the courtroom with a broad smile. Michael rocked in his chair at the defense table and turned to grin at his wife Rachel and sister Margaret. Father and son seemed to avoid eye contact. After they took turns pleading guilty to espionage charges, their attorneys successfully urged the judge to accept a plea- bargaining agreement they had made with the Justice Department.

Under the terms of the deal, John agreed to tell the Government what information he had conveyed to the Soviets so that the extent of the damage to U.S. security could be assessed. He also agreed to testify against the ring's other alleged member, Jerry Whitworth, 46, a former Navy communications specialist who is awaiting trial in San Francisco. In return, prosecutors asked the judge to sentence John to a single life term and Michael to 25 years in prison. Each had faced the possibility of multiple life sentences. Now, John would technically be eligible for parole in ten years, Michael in a little more than eight. But prosecutors insisted that the father is not likely to be freed soon. His attorney concurred. John has only "a glimmer of hope" of getting out "before he dies," said Bennett.

In defending the bargain, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Schatzow told reporters that it was vital to U.S. security for the Government to be able to debrief John Walker and that Walker could not be forced to talk against his will. "We need to know what is broken and what must be fixed," Schatzow said. Although the bargain had been approved by Attorney General Edwin Meese and Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, Navy Secretary John Lehman attacked the deal. John and Michael Walker had committed "the gravest of all possible crimes," charged Lehman. Not giving them the maximum possible sentence, he added, sends "the wrong message to the nation and to the fleet." Weinberger then scolded Lehman for making "injudicious and incorrect statements" about the arrangement.

Michael Walker's confession, read in court, suggested that John Walker was not always so concerned for his son's welfare. "My dad told me I could make money if I would take classified material from my workplace and give it to him," Michael said. "I was shocked and afraid of what my dad was suggesting." Nonetheless, Michael did it. He first gave his father secret papers from a "burn bag" while he was assigned to a Navy fighter squadron in Virginia Beach, Va., in 1983. Aboard the carrier Nimitz, starting in 1984, Michael routed messages about U.S. tracking of Soviet submarines and filched copies for his dad. "My father was pleased and said it looked like we were on a roll," Michael said. While it is estimated that John Walker collected at least $1 million from the Soviets for the secrets, he was far from generous to ( the son who was risking so much by turning spy. Michael said all he ever got from his dad for betraying his country was $1,000.