Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1961-10-25
10 Stand
Guilty or Not
By PHIL THOMAS
Star Staff Writer

Star Staff Writer
Mrs. Karen Scarbeck said to-
~ she will continue to "stick
my husband" regardless of
M4ether a District Court jury
afnds the ex-diplomat guilty or
innocent of charges Of passing
american secrets to Polish
SkentS.
SsMrS. Scarbeck. a petite, soft
&pOken young woman of 81,
made this announcement as a
District Court jury started it's
deliberations after hearing al
most three weeks of testimony
regarding her husband, Irwin,
former second secretary of the
American Embassy in Warsaw.
However, Mrs. Scarbeck said
she plans to return today to her
home in Dusseldorf, Germany,
and to her three children,
Pamela. S, and twin sons. Chris
topher and Kendrick, 8.
Evidence in the trial has re-
vealed that Mr.. Scarbeck be-
came involved with a 23-year-
old Polish girl, Miss Ursula
Discher. Government witnesses
testified that the ex-diplomat
was caught in bed with the girl
last December % by Polish
secret police who burst into
Miss Discher's apartment in
Warsaw.
They then blackmailed him
into giving them information
from classified documents in
the American embassy in
Warsaw.
Sat in Courtroom
Mrs. Scarbeck, who has sat
in the courtroom throughout
the trial, conceded after the
jury deliberations started that
1T wasn't easy"
She said, II have had a little
time to think about all these
things.
"Of course, as was brought |
out, I knew nothing about this
business with the Poles" she |
added.
But I still feel that he (Mr. |
Scarbeck) did not mean any |
harm to anyone.
HE has always had a strong |
feeling of helping other people |
this motivated everything he
did"
Mrs. Scarbeck then smiled
slightly and added, I'VE had
some really wonderful years to-
gether. I plan to stick by him"
She said she hopes to return
to this country with her chill
dren, all of whom were born |
in the United States.
Mrs. Scarbeck said she and |
her husband had lived in Wash |
ington during 1852 and 1853, |
and in San Francisco five |
years before Mr.. Scarbeck was
transferred to the Warsaw post |
in late 1858.
After the jury of IL men and |
one woman started celebrating
this morning, District Court
Judge Leonard P. Walsh
granted Mrs. Scarbeck's request
that she be allowed to visit |
with her husband briefly in the |
courthouse cellblock.
ecsFinal arguments were pre-
Vsepted to the jury yesterday |
by the defense attorney, Sam
uel C. Klein. and the prose-
cutor, Paul Vincent, Justice |
Department attorney.
Mr.. Vincent took only 20 |
minutes to sum up the tes-
timony, reviewing evidence |
that showed Mr.. Scarbeck |
turned over a secret docu-
ment and gave information
from other classified docu-
mentS from the American En-
baSSy in Warsaw to Polish !
agents between January and |
May 30 Of this year.
2-Hour Defense
Mr.. Klein then launched into |
a,2-hour summation in which
he pleaded with the jury to drop !
from their minds the state
ments made by Mr.. Scarbeck
to State Department security
officers and FBI agents in Ger
many and here before his ar
rest in Washington on June 10.
Mr.. Klein admitted that few
of the facts involved in the
case are in dispute, but con-
tended that IAN Interpretation
Of the facts differs"
He painted his client as a
soft mark" who had an altru-
istic interest in his frail mis- |
tress.
The defense attorney said it
was wrong for the Government
to attempt to show that this
woman is a mistress that (Mr.
Scarbeck) was interested in for
only physical reasons"
And Mr.. Klein said Miss
Discher responded to the help |
Mr.. Scarbeck gave her in get
ting out of Poland into Ger
many and getting medical at
tention in "the only way a
woman has of expressing her
appreciation"
Sees Arrest Delayed
The defense attorney said |
that his client, as a result of
lengthy interrogation by the
American security officers in
Germany and by the FBI here.
twas like a chicken paralyzed
by the sight of a snake.
!. Internally he had been COM
pletely destroyed"
m
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