Jeffrey Carney

Jeffrey Carney is a former U.S. Air Force intelligence specialist convicted of spying for East Germany.

ummary

One of the Stasi's most successful spies, code-named "The Kid", Carney handed over U.S. military documents while working in West Berlin for the Air Force. Carney was apprehended in 1991 in East Berlin on charges of espionage after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Biography

Carney entered the Air Force in December 1980. From April 1982 to April 1984 he was assigned to the 6912th Electronic Security Group, Electronic Security Command at Tempelhof Central Airport in Berlin as a linguist and intelligence specialist, with duty station at the 6912th Marienfelde Field Site. The 6912 ESG worked for NSA and eavesdropped on communications of Eastern Bloc countries.

Alienation

Carney, a homosexual, had apparently become disillusioned with the Air Force, and there are several stories of him attempting to turn in his badge and quit. He later claimed to have been lonely, alienated, and under psychological stress, and he felt he had no one to talk to about his problems. He had intended to defect to East Germany on his first crossing, but he allowed himself to be drawn into espionage by East German agents who expertly manipulated him and claimed his complete loyalty.

pying

While working at the Marienfelde Field Site in Berlin, Carney began copying classified documents which he then provided to the East German Ministry for State Security (Stasi) by repeatedly crossing back and forth into East Berlin. In 1984 he was transferred to Goodfellow AFB in Texas where he worked as a language instructor while continuing to spy for East Germany. In 1985, perhaps fearing that he would be caught for his espionage activities, he deserted the Air Force and defected to East Germany. There he continued to aid the communist government by intercepting and translating official telephone communications of US military commanders and embassy officials in Berlin.

Lifestyle And Recognition

One of these East German agents was assigned to be Carney's handler. During the course of his spying, Carney provided the Stasi with more than a hundred top-secret U.S. military documents. For his services to East Germany, he was awarded the NVA service medal in bronze and the medal of "Waffenbrüderschaft" in gold.

Arrest

The break in the case came after the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, when many Stasi records became available to foreign investigators. In April 1991 he was arrested by Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) agents at his residence in what used to be in the Soviet sector of Berlin. Eyewitnesses report that Carney was kidnapped in the middle of the day by AFOSI agents. Carney himself has also said that he was abducted from his home by US Government agents.

Conviction

After being extensively debriefed, Carney pleaded guilty to charges of espionage, conspiracy, and desertion and was sentenced in December 1991 to 38 years in prison. Carney served his sentence at the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Carney was released in 2002, after serving 11 years, seven months, and twenty days on a twenty-year sentence in accordance with his pretrial agreement.

Later life

After his release from prison, Carney attempted to return to Germany claiming that he was German. However, as East Germany had ceased to exist and since his passport had expired, German authorities refused to grant him a passport.

Carney is believed to currently be living in Ohio.

ources

"Germany Denies Passport To Ex-Spy", Washington Times, Tony Paterson

"“US Spy Gets 38 Years”", Cincinnati Post, 21 Dec 1991

"“Ex-Intelligence Specialist Guilty of Spying”", Air Force Times, 6 Jan 1992

"“Nobody Wants the American Who Gave Secrets to the Stasi”", The Telegraph (UK), 7 Jul 2003

"No Country More Beautiful", Jurgen Dahlkamp, Spiegel Online International, July 14, 2003

ee also

*Espionage