NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #16/NN_1992_16.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/5412

Text File | 1992-07-28 | 6.0 KB | 136 lines

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From: James I. Davis <[e-mail]>
Subject: Boston 3 case
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Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 19:51:44 GMT
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BOSTON THREE CASE -- A THREAT TO ALL ENGINEERS

A court case has recently come to my attention that I think has
serious implications for people who work in high technology
industries.

The case involves three computer engineers who have been active
around the issue of a united Ireland. Richard Johnson received his
MSEE from UC-Berkeley, and was a radar engineer at Mitre
Corporation, a defense contractor in New England. Christina Reid,
a recent graduate of San Francisco State in computer engineering,
had been at a Sunnyvale engineering firm for three months when she
was arrested. Martin Quigley, an Irish national and a computer
engineer, was living in Pennsylvania. The three were arrested in
July, 1989.

The FBI accused the defendants of conspiring to violate export
laws and to develop a missile system to shoot down British
helicopters in the north of Ireland.

Prior to the arrests, the FBI had opened mail, bugged homes and
cars, and questioned acquaintances. Some one hundred FBI agents
worked on the case at various times. They bugged more than 900
phone booths in the Boston area to intercept a phone call. Thirty
agents were assigned to watch Martin Quigley 16 hours a day for 10
weeks. The warrants for the wiretaps were issued under the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). FISA was intended to be used
to protect the U.S. against "foreign threats", and had never
before been used in prosecuting a case against U.S.  citizens. The
U.S. worked closely with British police to build a case.

After numerous searches of some the defendants homes, not one
weapon or missile system was found. They did seize wires, nuts and
bolts, resistors, capacitors, coffee cans, tools and a newspaper.
The FBI constructed the case out of hand-drawn diagrams and bits
of electronic equipment taken from the defendants' homes. The
prosecutors claimed that this equipment (all of it legal) _could_
be modified to make missiles and bombs. At one point, an FBI
electronics expert testified that electronic components taken from
Johnson's parents' home was similar to electronic components of an
IRA bomb that failed to detonate in Ireland five years ago. Under
cross-examination, he admitted that the two sets of equipment were
not the same at all.

During the trial, Federal Judge A. David Mazzone gave the FBI free
reign, allowed the elimination of anyone with an Irish sounding
name from the jury, restricted the testimony of defense witnesses,
including the Irish civil rights leader Bernadette McAliskey, and
generally ruled in favor of the prosecution.

In a letter to me, defendant Richard Johnson wrote, "The problem
any of us technical types have is going to court. You are at a
supreme disadvantage before a jury -- the government will lie,
they have FBI gumshoes come in and testify about any subject --
they are well trained in the Heinrich Himmler school of
electronics and the jury will believe whatever they say. When you
talk about ROMs, LANs, CDROMs, micro's, etc, etc, they don't have
a clue. Even an expert witness that can thoroughly refute the
govt. will not be understood and you're cooked. In our case we
completely demolished these people technically (in cross
examination and with our experts) but to no avail. So I don't know
what to recommend for a technical person to do to get a fair
trial."

After a seven week trial, the jury found the three defendants
guilty. Chris Reid received a 3-year 5-month prison sentence, she
entered prison in Pleasanton on July 1, 1991. Richard received a
10-year term, and Martin received an 8-year term. Because of the
nature of the charges, they have no chance of parole.

One of the charges in the case, "possessing property in aid of
foreign insurgents", had never been used before. Another charge,
"conspiracy to destroy property in a foreign country" was used
once in 1947.

So why do I believe this case is of interest to CPSR or people in
the computer industry?

1) An important "incriminating" element of the case against the
engineers was the fact that they _knew_ about electronics and
computer technology. Their _knowledge_ was considered their
"weaponry". This demonization of technology is a threat to
everyone that possesses engineering or computer skills, especially
if at one time or another you also maybe disagree with the
government (or more frightening, an ally of the government's!) _If
you possess these skills, you can be considered a dangerous
person._ This case has similarities with Operation Sun Devil,
where government agents indiscriminately confiscated equipment and
arrested people, for being aware of the technology, therefore,
culpable.

2) The Boston Three case represents an erosion of the civil
liberties of all. As in other cases, the most-difficult-to-defend
(in this case, because they sympathized with the cause of a united
Ireland, therefore they are "terrorists"; in Operation Sun-Devil,
"teenage hackers"; in other cases, "decadent artists") are used to
tighten the screws on everyone.

For more information, write to the Boston Three Defense Fund, 450
Taraval Street, Box 294, San Francisco, CA 94116. (Donations to
help defray legal expenses are welcome, too.)


Sincerely,


Jim Davis
Co-Chair, CPSR/Berkeley
[e-mail]


Write to the defendants at:

Richard Johnson    Chris Reid 84263-011   Martin Quigley 41064-066
17422-038FCI       FCI Pleasanton         FCI McKean Unity 1B
P.O. Box 903       Unit A/B               P.O. Box 5000
Ray Brook, NY      5701 8th St.,          Bradford, PA 16701
12977              Camp Parks
                   Dublin, CA 94568