Espionage case unfolding at Ft. Bragg

Saturday, December 04, 2010

Tags:

local/state

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (WTVD) -- A man with high-level military security clearance is under arrest, accused of trying to sell access to classified military computers.

The suspect is Bryan Martin, who is enlisted in the Navy, and assigned to the Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg.

According to federal documents obtained by the I-Team, Martin told an undercover F-B-I agent he had access to military computer systems, and said he was seeking long-term financial reimbursement.

The undercover agent paid Martin $3500 for documents labeled "Top Secret."

The I-Team has learned Martin thought he was selling U.S. military secrets to China.

According to the court documents, he also told the FBI agent that over his 15-20 year career, he could be very valuable because of his access to military secrets.

"These cases are rare," said Frank Perry, who used to run the Raleigh FBI office. "For a case like this to have been made in Raleigh or certainly in North Carolina - this area - is quite significant."

The undercover sting operation to arrest Martin happened at three different hotels - one on post, and two in Spring Lake.

The FBI says none of the Joint Special Operations Command secrets were ever compromised by the sting.