US Consulate Guard Fails at Spying for China



A former Marine who was working at a U.S. consulate office in China has pleaded guilty after trying -- and failing -- to spy for China, the Department of Justice said today.

Bryan Underwood, 32, pleaded guilty to one charge for attempting to pass photographs and access to the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou, China to China's Ministry of State Security.

After losing over $150,000 in the stock market in March 2011, Underwood, who was working at the time as a contract security guard, wrote a letter to China's Ministry of State Security in which he expressed his, "interest in initiating a business arrangement with your office," according to court documents.

"I know I have information and skills that would be beneficial to your offices," he wrote.

The Justice Department said that Underwood took over 30 pictures of sensitive areas of the consulate and made a document which listed recent security upgrades and the locations of surveillance cameras inside the consulate building.

More here:http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/marine-consulate-guard-fails-spying-china-pleads-guilty/story?id=17116860

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