Accused Spy Seeks Pension

DAILY BRIEFING

Accused Spy Seeks Pension

A former diplomat accused of compromising national security after being observed passing a briefcase to a Soviet agent has gone to court to force the State Department to restore his pension, the Associated Press has reported.

Attorneys for Felix S. Bloch argue that their client is entitled to his pension even though he was accused of "questionable activities involving national security."

Bloch, now 62, resigned in 1990 after the State Department scheduled a hearing to force him out of the Foreign Service. He was suspended without pay in 1989.

Bloch, a former charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, was investigated by the FBI, but never prosecuted for espionage. Justice Department officials were unable to find key evidence suggesting Bloch actually passed secret documents to a foreign power, but did allege that he paid a Viennese prostitute $10,000 a year for her services for seven years.

Bloch's lawsuit contends that his resignation was "without prejudice to his retirement benefits." The State Department violated government regulations and the retirement law governing federal employees by denying the pension, the suit says.

"Except for situations involving convictions for crimes of disloyalty to the United States, the department does not have the authority to deny any employee the right to retire after reaching the required age and completing the requisite years of service," the complaint said.

In 1995, Bloch pleaded guilty to shoplifting from a grocery store. He was given a 30-day suspended sentence and fined $100.