Clyde Lee Conrad
Encyclopedia
Clyde Lee Conrad was an U.S. Army non-commissioned officer
who, from 1974 until his arrest on August 23, 1988, sold top secret classified information
to the People's Republic of Hungary
, including top secret NATO war plans. He was convicted of espionage
and high treason
in a German court in 1990, and was sentenced to life imprisonment
.
Zoltan Szabo. Szabo, who was convicted of espionage in Austria
in 1989, received a 10-month suspended sentence. He assisted in the investigation by identifying some of the documents Conrad sold to the Hungarians. Among the documents sold by Conrad were the wartime general defense plans (GDP) of many units. These contained the precise description of where every unit was to go in case of war, and how they would defend. Conrad was originally recruited by Zoltan Szabo, a Hungarian émigré who served in the U.S. Army as both an NCO, and later as an officer. Szabo was also a colonel in the Hungarian Military Intelligence Service. Szabo recruited Conrad shortly before retiring from the U.S. military.
It is still unknown today how many people participated in the Szabo-Conrad spy ring, but it is known that their espionage activities lasted for several decades. Four others were later convicted on espionage charges in Florida for involvement with Conrad’s spy ring: Roderick James Ramsay, sentenced in August 1992 to 36 years in prison; Jeffrey Rondeau and Jeffrey Gregory, sentenced in June 1994 to 18 years each; and Kelly Therese Warren, sentenced on 12 February 1999 to 25 years in prison. Conrad's method of recruitment was usually attempts to appeal to poorly paid enlisted Army personnel, promising them large amounts of money for supplying him with intelligence reports. Ramsay alleged to the FBI that Conrad had recruited dozens of others, including at least one member of the Army's counter-espionage branch, and at least one officer who later became a general.
Conrad was arrested in 1988 by Federal Republic of Germany authorities and tried for espionage on behalf of the Hungarian and Czechoslovak intelligence services. He was convicted by the Koblenz State Appellate Court on June 6, 1990 of masterminding an espionage ring that sold highly sensitive information, and was sentenced to life in prison. German prosecutors said that the documents Conrad leaked, dealing with troop movements, NATO strategy, and nuclear weapons sites, eventually made their way to the Soviet KGB. Chief Judge Ferdinand Schuth, who presided over the case against Conrad, concluded in the verdict that because of Conrad's treason:
Conrad died of a heart attack, 50 years old, in Diez prison on January 8, 1998.
Of all Americans convicted of espionage, Conrad is one of only five spies to have been considered to have made "big money" ($1 million or more for spying). Aldrich Ames
, Larry Wu-Tai Chin
, Robert Hanssen
, and John Walker
are the other four.
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
who, from 1974 until his arrest on August 23, 1988, sold top secret classified information
Classified information
Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation...
to the People's Republic of Hungary
People's Republic of Hungary
The People's Republic of Hungary or Hungarian People's Republic was the official state name of Hungary from 1949 to 1989 during its Communist period under the guidance of the Soviet Union. The state remained in existence until 1989 when opposition forces consolidated in forcing the regime to...
, including top secret NATO war plans. He was convicted of espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
and high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
in a German court in 1990, and was sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
.
Espionage
According to court records, Conrad was introduced to the Hungarian secret service in 1975 by his supervisor in the 8th Infantry Division, former U.S. Army Sergeant First ClassSergeant First Class
Sergeant First Class is the seventh enlisted rank in the U.S. Army, above Staff Sergeant and below Master Sergeant and First Sergeant, and is the first senior non-commissioned officer rank...
Zoltan Szabo. Szabo, who was convicted of espionage in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
in 1989, received a 10-month suspended sentence. He assisted in the investigation by identifying some of the documents Conrad sold to the Hungarians. Among the documents sold by Conrad were the wartime general defense plans (GDP) of many units. These contained the precise description of where every unit was to go in case of war, and how they would defend. Conrad was originally recruited by Zoltan Szabo, a Hungarian émigré who served in the U.S. Army as both an NCO, and later as an officer. Szabo was also a colonel in the Hungarian Military Intelligence Service. Szabo recruited Conrad shortly before retiring from the U.S. military.
It is still unknown today how many people participated in the Szabo-Conrad spy ring, but it is known that their espionage activities lasted for several decades. Four others were later convicted on espionage charges in Florida for involvement with Conrad’s spy ring: Roderick James Ramsay, sentenced in August 1992 to 36 years in prison; Jeffrey Rondeau and Jeffrey Gregory, sentenced in June 1994 to 18 years each; and Kelly Therese Warren, sentenced on 12 February 1999 to 25 years in prison. Conrad's method of recruitment was usually attempts to appeal to poorly paid enlisted Army personnel, promising them large amounts of money for supplying him with intelligence reports. Ramsay alleged to the FBI that Conrad had recruited dozens of others, including at least one member of the Army's counter-espionage branch, and at least one officer who later became a general.
Conrad was arrested in 1988 by Federal Republic of Germany authorities and tried for espionage on behalf of the Hungarian and Czechoslovak intelligence services. He was convicted by the Koblenz State Appellate Court on June 6, 1990 of masterminding an espionage ring that sold highly sensitive information, and was sentenced to life in prison. German prosecutors said that the documents Conrad leaked, dealing with troop movements, NATO strategy, and nuclear weapons sites, eventually made their way to the Soviet KGB. Chief Judge Ferdinand Schuth, who presided over the case against Conrad, concluded in the verdict that because of Conrad's treason:
Conrad died of a heart attack, 50 years old, in Diez prison on January 8, 1998.
Of all Americans convicted of espionage, Conrad is one of only five spies to have been considered to have made "big money" ($1 million or more for spying). Aldrich Ames
Aldrich Ames
Aldrich Hazen Ames is a former Central Intelligence Agency counter-intelligence officer and analyst, who, in 1994, was convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia...
, Larry Wu-Tai Chin
Larry Wu-Tai Chin
Larry Wu-tai Chin was a former Chinese language translator working for the CIA's Foreign Broadcast Information Service...
, Robert Hanssen
Robert Hanssen
Robert Philip Hanssen is a former American FBI agent who spied for Soviet and Russian intelligence services against the United States for 22 years from 1979 to 2001...
, and John Walker
John Anthony Walker
John Anthony Walker, Jr. is a former United States Navy Chief Warrant Officer and communications specialist convicted of spying for the Soviet Union from 1968 to 1985, at the height of the Cold War...
are the other four.