BUSTED: Agents 202 and 123 [Updated 2]

Fresh from the U.S. Justice Department:

[Excerpts below]

"An indictment and criminal complaint unsealed today in the District of Columbia charge Walter Kendall Myers, 72, a.k.a. 'Agent 202,' and his wife, Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, 71, a.k.a. 'Agent 123,' and 'Agent E-634,' with conspiracy to act as illegal agents of the Cuban government and to communicate classified information to the Cuban government. Each of the defendants is also charged with acting as an illegal agent of the Cuban government and with wire fraud.

"According to an affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Kendall Myers began his work at the State Department in 1977, initially serving as a contract instructor at the Department’s Foreign Service Institute (FSI) in Arlington, Va. After living briefly in South Dakota, he returned to Washington, D.C., and resumed employment as an instructor with FSI. From 1988 to 1999, in addition to his FSI duties, he performed periodic work for the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR).

"Kendall Myers later began working full-time at the INR and, from July 2001 until his retirement in October 2007, he was a senior analyst for Europe for INR, where he specialized in intelligence analysis on European matters and had daily access to classified information through computer databases and otherwise. He received a Top Secret security clearance in 1985 and, in 1999, his clearance was upgraded to Top Secret / SCI.

"According to the affidavit, Kendall Myers told the source that he typically removed information from the State Department by memory or by taking notes, although he did occasionally take some documents home. 'I was always pretty careful. I, I didn't usually take documents out,' he said. According to the affidavit, he also acknowledged delivering information to the CuIS that was classified beyond the 'Secret' level. He further stated that he had received 'lots of medals' from the Cuban government and that he and his wife had met and spent an evening with Fidel Castro in 1995.

"The affidavit further indicates that an analysis of Kendall Myers' classified State Department work computer hard drive revealed that, from August 22, 2006, until his retirement on Oct. 31, 2007, he viewed more than 200 sensitive or classified intelligence reports concerning the subject of Cuba, while employed as an INR senior analyst for Europe. Of these reports concerning Cuba, the majority was classified and marked Secret or Top Secret, the affidavit alleges."

[Update]

Walter Kendall Myers was also a Senior Adjunct Professor of European Studies at the John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). In late 2006, at a SAIS academic forum on U.S.-U.K. relations, Kendall Myers made some controversial statements, which were soon repudiated by the U.S. State Department.

Now that it's revealed Kendall Myers had "Top Secret" clearance of U.S. intelligence, his previous comments now have a lot more weight than some had previously dismissed.

[Update 2]

A commenter mentioned a recent Washingtion Post article about this case. It's a slightly deeper look into the lives of Kendall and Gwendolyn Myers featuring interviews with friends and neighbors.

The Independent has a story with some quotes from Fidel Castro about the Myers, and a picture of the retired couple.