NEW YORK _ A former CIA case officer accused of keeping top secret records naming spies and covert addresses was arrested upon entering the country from Hong Kong, authorities said.
Jerry Chun Shing Lee appeared in Brooklyn Federal Court on Tuesday, a day after he was arrested at Kennedy Airport when he cleared customs, officials said.
Authorities say Lee, a case officer for more than a decade with the federal intelligence agency, held onto classified information that included the "true names of assets and covert facilities" after leaving government service in 2007. The Army veteran joined the CIA in 1994, obtained top secret clearance and signed lifetime nondisclosure agreements. He kept the clearance until he left the agency.
Lee, who lives in Hong Kong, made a cameo appearance in federal court Tuesday and remained in custody as he was shipped off to Virginia to face charges of unlawful retention of national defense information. He faces up to 10 years in prison if he's convicted.
The ex-officer's arrest left open the question of what Lee, 53, was planning to do with the sensitive information.
Arrest documents say authorities carried out two searches in August 2012 _ one of a hotel room Lee was using in Honolulu and the other, days later, in a Fairfax, Va., hotel room where he was staying. The searches revealed a datebook and address book.
Authorities said Lee possessed classified information ranging from secret to top secret, "the disclosure of which could cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security of the United States."
