Ex-Army Weapons Analyst Admits Spying for S. Africa

BALTIMORE — A former weapons analyst for the Army pleaded guilty today to espionage for passing classified information to the South African government, the first such prosecution involving that country.

Thomas Joseph Dolce, 49, once a civilian employee at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, north of Baltimore, admitted mailing a classified document in 1979 to Col. Bernardus Redelinghuys, a defense and armed forces attache at the South African Embassy in Washington.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Gary P. Jordan did not describe the information, saying only that Dolce provided it because of its potential use for sabotage and because Dolce felt that the United States should be sharing the information with South Africa, a staunchly anti-communist country that is ruled by its white minority under apartheid, its system of racial segregation.

Authorities said Dolce, who is now cooperating with the investigation, insisted that his activities were motivated by ideological, rather than financial, concerns. Jordan said there is no evidence that Dolce accepted money from the South Africans.

Dolce was employed by the Army Material Systems Analysis Activity, a Department of the Army agency charged with evaluating weapons systems. He held a secret-level security clearance, and the documents involved were classified secret.

Dolce told investigators that he had a longtime interest in South Africa, and in 1971 he sold his residence in this country and emigrated there, according to Jordan. However, he became frustrated by the job opportunities there and South Africa’s one-year residency requirement before he could obtain a defense-related position.

Dolce returned to the United States, and in 1973 he was hired by the Department of the Army.