A U.S. engineer has been convicted of selling military secrets to China to help the country build a stealth cruise missile. From AP:
Noshir Gowadia was accused of pocketing at least $110,000 from China, which he allegedly used to pay the mortgage on a multimillion-dollar oceanview home he built on Maui’s north shore.
Gowadia, who has been in federal custody since October 2005, faces life in prison when he is sentenced in November.
The 66-year-old gave China a design for a cruise missile component and then showed its effectiveness when compared to United States’ air-to-air missiles, according to federal prosecutors.
“This verdict sends a very clear message that no, you can’t do that, and we can take care of our business here in American courtrooms when that happens,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson said.
Gowadia’s defense attorneys argued during the nearly four-month trial that while it’s true he gave China the design for the cruise missile exhaust nozzle, he based his work on unclassified, publicly available information. Gowadia plans to appeal.
