Evening star., 1955-01-05

AS PeleTSen begins
Term in Secrets Case
The strange case of Joseph
Sidney Petersen, jr. ran its
course today with the former Ma
tional Security Agency research
analyst beginning a seyen-year
sentence with most Of his secrets
locked UP within him.
The $7,700-a-year specialist in
secret code work was sentenced
yesterday in Alexandra Federal
Court q week after admitting he
had stored secret NSA docu-
ments in his Arlington apart
ment.
But still surrounding the case
was an aura of mystery. Why
did the thoroughly respected.
trusted analyst take the papers
WAlAC1 0ukAALlC0 1lllAs
Friendly Natien Involved.
The Government never at
tempted to show what notivated
the act. and it was never alleged
he had been paid for revealing
any of the information. An
other strange twist was the fact
that the only foreign country In
yolyed was the Netherlands. q
friendly nation.
Peterson, who had been free
under $4,000 bond. was taken
into custody Immediately and
placed in the Alexandria Jail,
pending formal commitment by
the Attorney Generals office to
q Federal prison. probably Lewis
burg.
There was no change Of ex-
preston on the face Of the tall,
gaunt ex-college instructor as
Judge Albert v. Bryan pro-
nounced the sentence. The
maximum possible jail sentence
for the charge was 10 years. and
in addition a fine up to $4,000
could have been imposed.
Wife Weeps.
Petersen's wife Of less than
two years who has stood by her
husband throughout the trial
was less capable Of controlling
her sorrow. She wept pitifully
as her husband was led away,
and tenderly clasped his hand. ]
Mrs. Petersen has q speech de-
feet that makes 1t difficult for
her to talk. Petersen's brother,
William Petersen, who Is an
assistant superintendent of
schools in Louisiana. also was in
the courtroom.
Petersen. now 40. will be ELI
gible for parole after serving
one fourth Of his term.
Petersen's attorney, David
Kinney, said he saw no reason
for further appeal. since Peter
sen pleaded guilty to the charge
Of storing secret documents in
his apartment. Two other
charges, one of taking secret |
documents from NSA and an
other Of possessing Government |
papers Illegally. were dropped as |
soon as the prison term was i'm
posed.
Deliberate Violation.
Judge Bryan noted when he |
the sentence: "The pith |
of the offense Is not what the
defendant Withdrew drom NSA) i
but the fact that he did with
draw records from NSA.
Confidence and trust were
vital elements in the position
he held. He has deliberately
violated that trust and conf
dence. In fact. two items Of in-.E
formation-oae relating TO- The
Netherlands code and the other
to North Korean political Sc
curity traffic-were gravely inn
portant. Their disclosure could
have, and may have for all the
court knows, led to very, very
serious consequences jeopardiz-
ing the security Of the United
States"
Judge Bryan said there were
only two extenuating circum- !
stances brought out in Peter
sens behalf during the pre-
sentence hearing. These were
the fact that he entered a guilty !
plea. making it unnecessary for |
the Government to conduct a
public trial with resulting dis
closures Of NSA secrets, and his
apparent cooperation with the
FBI Immediately before his ar
rest.
sees wise counsel.
"In these instances. he has
acted well and obviously has
been counseled wisely" said I
Judge Bryan. But with these
two exceptions. the circum-
stances here show nothing in
mitigation Of what he has done"
Besides the notes on The
Netherlands code and the North
Korean security traffic analysis
referred to by Judge Bryan,
Petersen also was accused of
keeping a secret copy of the
Chinese telegraphic code and a
classified analysis of the Hagelin
cryptograph. which is a decod-
ing machine.
Most of the pre-sentence hear
ing was held in open court. Some
testimony about the nature OF
the documents involved In the |
case and how they could affect |