Evening star., 1950-01-29
Judy CopIon's Evenings Are Undorkened
Still Goes Doncinq
But Has No Steady
Boy Friend Now
BY james J. CuIIinone
Stor Stoff Correspondent

S0HIcS y. SutilV0ne
Star Stoff Correspondent
NEW YORK, Jan. 28.-Danc-
ing. dining and boy friends still
loom large in Judith Coplon's eve
nings despite the Jail sentence of
up to 10 years she faces as a re-
suit of her conviction in Wash
ington, and the threat of an ad-
ditional IS years behind bars if
she is convicted here.
Certainly I go out dancing
with boy friends" the 28-year- -old
former Government girl said to-
day during the week end recess
of the Federal Court in which she
is being tried jointly on spy con-
spiracy charges with Valentin
Gubitchev, 33. a Soviet engineer.
Miss Coplon's defense in the
spy trial here is based on the con-
tention that her meetings with
Gubitchev were inspired by pla-
tonic romance and espionage had
no part in their association.
No Option on Heart.
But no one man has an option
on her heart now, said the attrac-
tive brunette who until her ar
rest last March was a trusted
analyst of confidential documents
in the Justice Departments for
eign agents registration section.
Her love for Gubitchev-a
deeper love than she had ever
felt for any man-died the night
they were arrested, she said.
Her interest in Henry Shapiro,
Justice Department attorney,
with whom she registered in Bal
timore and Philadelphia hotels
while she was being courted by
Gubitchev has vanished, the five
foot curvaceous ex-Government
girl asserted.
With alternate laughter and
flashes of fiery indignation Miss
Coplon told New York newspaper
reporters that there was "abso-
lutely nothing" to reports they
had heard of a camera smashing
incident on one of her trips to
night dancing spot. A reporter
said he had heard that either
Miss Coplon or a boy friend had
smashed camera when a photo
graph of them was taken.
Question Changes Mood.
What about this man from
Rochester we hear about, Judy?"
a reporter asked.
There is no man from Ro-
chester" she replied firmly.
Are you planning to get mar
ried, Judy?"
"When?" she answered moodily
and the laughter vanished from
her face. With a 10-year SEN
tence in Washington and 35
years hanging over me here, I'll
ask you when?"
Miss Coplon said many of her
old friends still include her in
their parties and her appearance
attracts no attention when she
goes out with them. -
You know, it's funny" she
said. Sometimes when I'm riding
on the subway the people all
around me will be reading tab
loids with my picture on the front
page, but no one notices me-"
Shows Strain of Trials.
The strain of two trials shown
on the fact of Miss Coplon but
her trim figure still evokes wolf
whistles" when she leaves the
courthouse. During the spring.
like days this week she appeared
in tight fitting blouses.
The gloomy. hangdog attitude
displayed by the tiny defendant
on the first day of her trial has
gradually given away to return
of the vivaciousness which char
acterized her appearance in Wash
ington. She now takes keen in
terest in every development in the
trial, makes copious notes for
Archibald Palmer her lawyer, and
flashes a smile at the slightest
provocation.
The smile never flashes toward
her co-defendant, however. She
never looks at Gubitchev and he
never looks at her. The tiny Rus
sian engineer-he is only five foot
tfree-sits in his place at the op-
posite end of the counsel table,
either looking straight ahead or