Defense in spy case: Engineer gave public documents to Chinese

ocregister
SANTA ANA – A former Boeing engineer accused of economic espionage rejected overtures from Chinese officials to pass on technology trade secrets, and provided them only with information that was already public, a defense attorney said in closing statements today.

“Mr. Chung walked an interesting line, and a risky line, but not a line that was criminal,’’ said Thomas Bienert Jr., the attorney for Dongfan “Greg” Chung.

Authorities found more than 250,000 documents at Chung's home – information from Rockwell, Boeing and other aerospace companies, including correspondence with Chinese officials, authorities said. Many documents were found hidden in crawl spaces underneath the residence, authorities said.

Briefings from Chinese officials also were found at the home, authorities said. Bienert explained that Chung has the briefing because he planned to one day write about his work.

“The (space) shuttle was a labor of love,’’ Bienert said. “He’s keeping information for his own use and one day wants to write a book.’’

Chung, who resides in Orange, is accused of giving secrets to China since the late 1970s. He is charged with 10 counts, including six of economic espionage, as well as acting as an agent for China.

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