An accomplished former government space scientist admitted in court Wednesday to trying to sell classified information to Israel, but federal agents say they believe they stopped him from actually passing any secrets. Not that they can know for sure.
The investigators say the undercover sting operation that caught Stewart David Nozette might never have been launched if he hadn't been cheating on his taxes. But it has ended with Nozette facing 13 years in prison.
Nozette pleaded guilty to one count of attempted espionage, admitting he tried to provide Israel with top secret information about satellites, early warning systems, ways of retaliating against large-scale attack, communications intelligence information and major elements of defense strategy.