Thomas Patrick Cavanagh | |
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Born | 1945 (age 79–80) |
Occupation | Aerospace engineer |
Criminal status | Released |
Criminal charge | Espionage |
Penalty | Life imprisonment (Reduced to 16 years) |
Thomas Patrick Cavanagh is an aerospace engineer who was sentenced in 1985 after being convicted of trying to sell stealth bomber secrets to the Soviet Union.
Cavanagh was arrested at a hotel in Commerce, California, in December 1984, by FBI agents posing as Soviet spies. Cavanagh worked at Northrop, and at the time was undergoing a divorce, and was heavily in debt. He tried to sell classified technology and information for $25,000, equivalent to $76,000in 2024.
He was sentenced to life in prison. [1] [2] He was released on parole on March 1, 2001. [3]