Navy Engineer Pleads Guilty to Selling Submarine Secrets

Washington — 

A Navy nuclear engineer pleaded guilty Monday to trying to pass information about American nuclear-powered warships to someone he thought was a representative of a foreign government but who was actually an undercover FBI agent.

Jonathan Toebbe, 43, pleaded guilty in federal court in Martinsburg, West Virginia, to a single count of conspiracy to communicate restricted data. The sentencing range agreed to by lawyers calls for a potential punishment between roughly 12 years and 17 years in prison.

Toebbe and his wife, Diana, were arrested in October after prosecutors said he abused his access to top-secret government information and repeatedly sold details about the design elements and performance characteristics of Virginia-class submarines.

Toebbe acknowledged during the plea hearing to conspiring to pass classified information to a foreign government in exchange for money with the intent to “injure the United States.”

“Yes, your honor,” Toebbe said when asked if he considered himself guilty.

The FBI has said the scheme began in April 2020, when Jonathan Toebbe sent a package of Navy documents to a foreign government and wrote that he was interested in selling to that country operations manuals, performance reports and other sensitive information. That package was obtained by the FBI in December 2020 through its legal attaché office in the unspecified foreign country. That set off a monthslong undercover operation in which an agent posing as a representative of a foreign country made contact with Toebbe and agreed to pay thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency for the information Toebbe was offering.

Diana Toebbe was accused of serving as a lookout at several prearranged “dead-drop” locations at which her husband deposited memory cards containing government secrets, concealing them in objects such as a chewing gum wrapper and a peanut butter sandwich. She has pleaded not guilty and the case against her remains pending.

The country to which Jonathan Toebbe was looking to sell the information has not been identified in court documents and was not disclosed in court during the plea hearing Monday.

Toebbe, who as part of his job had a top-secret security clearance, agreed as part of the plea deal to help federal officials with locating all classified information in his possession, as well as the roughly $100,000 in cryptocurrency that was paid to him by the FBI.

FBI agents who searched the couple’s Annapolis, Maryland, home found a trash bag of shredded documents, thousands of dollars in cash, valid children’s passports and a “go-bag” containing a USB flash drive and latex gloves.

Colombian Navy carries out an operation against illegal fishing in Nariño - Other Cities - Colombia

In three foreign-flagged vessels the Colombian Navy achieved the seizure of 1,665 kilograms of white fish, when they were sailing through the Colombian Pacific.

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In compliance with the campaign called Artemisa Naval aimed at the preservation and defense of water, biodiversity and natural resources, through the Rapid Reaction Unit of the Tumaco Coast Guard Station, in the Pacific coast of the department of Nariñothe three motorboats were detected at a distance of 110 nautical miles, when they were carrying out fishing tasks but irregularly.

When the crew members of the ARC ‘Punta Ardita’ coastal patrol boat proceeded to inspect the boats, they were surprised to find a total of 122 specimens of fish, including goldfish, swordfish and panderón.

But that was not all. In the same inspection they were able to establish that the captains of the boats they did not have the permits to carry out fishing activities and navigability in Colombian territory by the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Authority (AUNAP), as well as the Colombian Maritime General Directorate (DIMAR).

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In these circumstances, they incurred in the alleged crimes of illegal fishing and illegal use of natural resources, in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 2111 of July 29, 2021.

After reviewing and verifying the seized fishing resource, the three captains of the boats were captured and placed at the disposal of the Prosecutor’s Office General of the Nation, while fishing was in the hands of the AUNAP.

For their part, seven people who made up the crew of the three boats were handed over to Migration Colombia.

The National Navy also informed that to this advanced operation in the waters of the Nariño Pacific, the seizure of 180 kilograms of illegal fishing found aboard a foreign vessel on January 23 of this year, in which several species protected by the Colombian State were found, including the silky shark.

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The Colombian Navy said that through the Pacific Naval Force it will continue carrying out tasks to strengthen, protect and safeguard the fishing resources and maritime and river spaces of the Pacific Coast, with the purpose of counteracting crimes against activities that affect the marine and coastal environment.

At the same time, it will continue to support the environmental authorities in their search to maintain the conservation of the fishing resource, as strategic assets of the Nation.

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US Deploying Navy Destroyer, Fighter Jets to Aid UAE

WASHINGTON — 

The U.S. military is sending a guided missile destroyer to the United Arab Emirates and deploying fighter jets to help the UAE as it contends with missile attacks from Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed the moves in a phone call Tuesday with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

A Pentagon statement said the USS Cole will “partner with the UAE Navy before making a port call in Abu Dhabi.”

“The Secretary also informed the Crown Prince of his decision to deploy 5th Generation Fighter aircraft to assist the UAE against the current threat and as a clear signal that the United States stands with the UAE as a long-standing strategic partner,” the statement said.

A January 17 rebel attack killed three foreign workers at an Abu Dhabi oil facility.

One week later, UAE and U.S. forces at Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra airbase launched interceptor missiles to destroy two Houthi missiles.

A third attack came Monday, with UAE missiles intercepting a Houthi rocket during a visit from Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

The UAE is part of a Saudi-led coalition, which since 2015 has battled the Houthi rebels in defense of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.