Re: Japanese agents in the U.S.

In response to my own query I found the following:

In 1936, former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander John S. Farnsworth and
former Navy Yeoman Harry Thomas Thompson were indicted for selling a
code book to the Japanese. Both were convicted. Farnsworth was
sentenced to 12 years in prison and Thompson got 15 years (NYT, July 7,
1936, p. 4; February 27, 1937, p. 1)

In January 1942, six men -- American citizens Ralph Townsend, David
Warren Ryder, and Frederick Vincent Williams, and Japanese nationals
Tsutomu Obana, K. Takahashi, and S. Takeuchi - were indicted for
being unregistered agents of a foreign government. They were alleged to
have distributed propaganda on behalf of the Japanese government. (New
York Times, January 29, 1942, p. 15.) According to the web site Virtual
Museum of San Francisco (www.sfmuseum.org) Townsend pleaded guilty. I
found no indication of a sentence. Web sources indicate that Ryder was
convicted and sentenced to prison. I found nothing more about Ryder.
The Japanese had apparently fled the country before indictment.

In November 1943, Austrian native Theodore A. Schmidt was indicted for
the same sort of activity, being an unregistered agent of Japan and
distributing pro-Japanese propaganda. (NYT, November 4, 1943, p. 11). I
could not find a disposition.

In January 1944, Arthur Clifford Read was indicted for these same types
of activities, giving pro-Japanese lectures prior to war with Japan
(NYT, January 19, 1944, p. 3). I could find no disposition.

In August 1944, Velvalee Dickinson of New York was sentenced to 10
years in prison and a $10,000 fine for typing letters containing
military information which were sent to a Japanese agent in Argentina.
Dickinson professed her innocence, claiming that she did the work for
her late husband unaware of its real purpose. The Dickinson case is
touted on the FBI website as one of its most significant.

The Vonsiatsky Espionage Case in Connecticut in 1942, another big FBI
case, apparently had some Japanese aspects to it, but was more an
anti-Soviet scheme. No secrets were transmitted.

I did not find any charges against Issei or Nisei defendants although
the New York Times mentions lots of arrests in California in 1942.

David Wilma
www.HistoryLink.org

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