David Sheldon Boone (born August 26, 1952) is a former

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

signals analyst who worked for the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collectio ...

(NSA) and was

convicted In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of " not proven", which is con ...

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tang ...

-related charges in 1999 related to his sale of secret documents to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

from 1988 to 1991. Boone's case was an example of a late Cold War U.S. government security breach.

Early career

Boone had worked for the NSA for three years before being reassigned to

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the '' ...

, Germany, in 1988. He served in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

from 1971–1972 and retired from the Army, as a Sergeant First Class, in 1991.

Turn to espionage

In October 1988, the same month that he separated from his wife and children, Boone walked into the Soviet embassy in Washington, D.C. and offered his services. According to an FBI

counterintelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or o ...

agent's

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...

, Boone was under "severe financial and personal difficulties" when he began spying. His former wife had garnished his Army sergeant's pay, leaving him with only $250 a month. According to the federal complaint, Boone met with his

handler Handler or The Handler may refer to: People Occupations * Handler, offensive player in Ultimate (sport) * Animal handler, person who conducts animal training or is a wrangler * Handler, a sport coach, agent or promoter * Agent handling, person ...

about four times a year from late 1988 until June 1990, when his access to classified information was suspended because of "his lack of personal and

professional responsibility Professional responsibility is a set of duties within the concept of professional ethics for those who exercise a unique set of knowledge and skill as professionals. Professional responsibility applies to those professionals making judgments, a ...

." He held a Top Secret clearance from 1971 and gained access to

SCI SCI may refer to: Companies *Service Corporation International, an American funeral service provider *Shipping Corporation of India *SCI Systems, merged into Sanmina Corporation, electronics manufacturing *SCi Games, a video game developer Orga ...

information in 1976. He is alleged to have received payments totaling more than $60,000 from the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

Arrest and indictment

Boone was arrested October 10, 1998, at a hotel outside

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

after being lured from his home in Western Germany to the United States in an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

sting operation In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person attempting to commit a crime. A typical sting will have an undercover law enforcement officer, detective, or co-operative member of the public play a role ...

. He was charged with selling Top Secret classified documents to Soviet agents 1988 to 1991, including a 600-page manual describing U.S.

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...

programs and a listing of nuclear targets in Russia. Boone was indicted on three counts: one for

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agr ...

to commit espionage and the other two related to his alleged passing of two Top Secret documents to his Soviet handler. Boone pleaded guilty to conspiracy December 18, and was sentenced 26 February 1999, to 24 years and four months in prison. Under a

plea agreement A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defenda ...

Boone was also required to forfeit $52,000 and a hand-held scanner he used to copy documents. David Sheldon Boone,

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

(BOP)#43671-083, was released on January 14, 2020.Inmate Locator
"

. Retrieved on June 16, 2015.

References

:''Some of the text in this article is derived from the public-domain

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

documen
''Recent Espionage Cases''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boone, David Sheldon American people convicted of spying for the Soviet Union American prisoners and detainees Analysts of the National Security Agency Living people People convicted under the Espionage Act of 1917 1952 births People from Flint, Michigan