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*»Ex-Army Agent;j Gets New TrialJ On Secrets Theft1.lt FRANKFURT, Germany (UP) t- A U.S. High Commission Court of i- Appeals yesterday set aside the ^ conviction of a former American11' intelligence agent found guilty two years ago on charges of illegal possession of government documents.The appeals court ordered a newtrial for Michael R. Rothkrug. of Westport, Conn., former chief ofthe Army’s Intelligence Documents Center in Berlin, on grounds that the American court which triedhim in Germany in 1953 had committed “prejudicial errors.Sentence SuspendedRothkrug was found guilty on three counts of illegal possession of classified U. S. government documents. The sentence was suspended on condition that he leave Germany and return home within30 days, which he did. Rothkrug later appealed the sentence.Rothkrug, after leaving the Army and his intelligence post, entered a private West Berlin textile firm.It was at that firm that army agents claimed they found thousands of top secret documents which allegedly had been missing from the files of the Berlin military intelligence detachment.Public Misinformed, Rothkrug CAaimsWESTPORT, Conn. (UP) — Former Army intelligence officer Michael R. Rothkrug yesterdaysaid the action of the U.S. HighCommission Court in setting aside his conviction on charges of illegal possession of government documents was “the only fair thing that could have been done.”Rothkrug said he “welcomes a new trial in the United States.”He said “government witnesses tampered with the evidence and committed perjury during my trial two years ago in Germany.”He said that “as soon as I got back to this country I went to the appropriate agencies and told them the w'hole story. We were the ones anxious to bring thing into light. Apparently someone in the government feels the same way I do about it. The public did not see all tne facts in the case.”Rothkrug said he was “shocked by the irregularities in the trial.*He said “I tried to expose conditions in Berlin. If my warnings had been heeded at that time it w'ould have prevented the abduction of key personnel by the Communists.”
Newspaper Details
The Berkshire Evening Eagle
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, US
Thu, Mar 17, 1955
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 19 Oct 2019
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