SPY EXPOSURE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 173, 23 July 1936, Page 9

SPY EXPOSURE.

AMERICAN OFFICER. INFORMATION -TO JAPAN, j i SENTENCE OF 15 YEARS. 1 (From Our Own Correspondent.) LOS ANGELES, July I. Exposure of an assorted Japanese spy plot, naming a high officer in the Imperial Japanese. Navy and a former non-com-missioned officer of the United States. Fleet, was made in Los Angeles when the Federal grand jury returned indictments against the pair, outlining 19 overt acts injurious to the L nited States. Lieutenant-Commander Toshio Miyazaki. of the Nipponese navy, one-time enrolled a* a language officer at Stanford University, near Sun Francisco, and ( Ilarrv Thomas Thompson, former petty j officer in the United States Navy, and ( now serving a HO-day sentence in the j Los Angeles county gaol for illegal wear-. ill" of "the navy uniform, face a maxi-. mum •sentence of 20 years' imprisonment nnder the Espionage Act if convicted. | The Japanese navy officer, who isl charged with employing Thompson to | serve Japan in obtaining information to | |be used to the injury of American j I defence forces, disappeared about the time the United States Government] I decided to expose the entire plot. It is j ] believed »he departed for his liatne land.; The case was presented to the grand jury by Assistant - United States Attorney Thomas, acting under specific instructions of United State* Attorney Hall, now in Washington, where he was called to confer with high officials of the State, | Xavy and Justice Departments.

True Bill Returned. I In the true bill returned by the grand ! jury against Miyazaki. also known as J Tanny, and against Thompson, the pair 1 are accused of stealing from the United I States Navy, and delivering to agents I of .Inpan, documents, writings, code | books, signal books, sketches, photographs, negatives, blue prints, plans,

maps, models, notes, instruments, appli-j antes and other information relating to | the national defence, with reason to j believe that they would be used to the: injury of the United States and to the advantage of Japan. j The indictment containing the 19 overt acts is based on the activities of the Japanese navy olficer and Thompson up to March 8, 1935. At that time Thompson, his asserted duplicity revealed, acted as an agent of the United States Navy Intelligence, and led his former employer into a trap. His usefulness then to both governments was destroyed bv his playing of both ends against the middle, to the end that the Japanese Government terminated its employment | of this 30-vear-old navy man. Now before the grand jury appeared several Government agents and William j Turntine, former room mate of Thompj son. brought to Los Angeles from Texas several months' ago and held a material witness in the county gaol. He is several years younger than Thompson, and talked freely of hii> suspicions and is reported to have aided the inves tigation by filling '"ga-ps" in the story. Girl Questioned.

A comely Japanese girl lias been ques-lt tioned by operatives also, and is now I; being watched closely until her storyj < can be verified. She is reported to haven known Thompson only casually. The indictment ill regard to the overt| acts gives a chronological word picture! of the relationship of the Japanese officer and the American. It is charged that Thompson, on August 15, 1934,' went aboard the U.S.S. Brooks in San Diego j Harbour and took a schedule of employ-1 ment of the United States naval vessels,! and that two day si later he entered the! Naval Training Station at San Diego j and took papers from the bulletin board. | On September 24, 1934, it is charged! that Miyazaki opened an account in the j Yokpliama Specie Bank of San Fran-! Cisco, and deposited large sums of money j until February 5, 1935. A few days j later Miyazaki is charged with giving Thompson 250 dollars in cash upon meeting him in San Pedro Street, Los Angeles. In November, 1934. Miyazaki is charged with having written Thompson a letter from Stanford University telling hi ill that his monthly salary would be sent the first of each month, and requesting that Thompson send him the schedule of force tactics which were to be started on December 5.

Cashed 300-dollar Cheque. On the clay after that letter was written, the true bill charges, Miyazaki caused the bank to issue a cheque foi 300 dollars, which was sent to Thompson, and three days later Thompsor accepted the cheque and cashed it u the Seaboard National Bank, Los Angeles. At various other times tlii i Japanese officer is charged with pa\in; i Thompson sums of money by chequ* (and cash. I Earlv in December Thompson is sai Ito have bought a chief yeoinan's un I form of the United States Navy an ! often mingled with sailors while makin i trips to vessels of the fleet. In .Tanuar; IjO.'j.j, it. is charged that lie had in h ! possession an index to the files of tl U.S.S. Tennessee, and a report 1 gunnery exercises of short-range batt practice of the U.S.S. Mexico. Thompson is said to have met t suave Oriental in' Los Angeles « January 27, 1035, and delivered to hi the gunnery school book and a schedi i of employment of the. United Stat Xavy. During the first week in Mar of 1935 the indictment sets forth tli I Thompson went aboard the warslii !■ Pennsylvania and Colorado and Xori

umpton, wearing the false uniform, a a few days later met the .Tapani officer on a. San Pedro street a delivered to him certain papers. Since Thompson was arrested a held in gaol in lien of 20,000 doll bail, he has refused to talk about case. Clyde Thomas, deputy United Sta Attorney, announced not only that Government would seek an immedi trial for Thompson, but added t before the case was concluded a la : number of persons probably would i involved. The status of Miyazaki reniai ! obscure. j In Tokyo Japanese officials v j reported to have said: "We lack offi I information and hence are unable j comment.'' I

j Thompson was sentenced to 15 ye imprisonment on conviction of a■ « I spiraev to sell secret naval informs ( ito an appnt. of Japan. The [the defendant's youth air.l t/> e " » , j l,e was -not of the crlmmnj « duced him not to ' nl P oso 7 'i lon ipso» sentence of 20 t ponced'""-' \ considered to bo the 1-rU 1 in America.