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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| US nuclear scientist jailed for trying to sell secrets | US nuclear scientist jailed for trying to sell secrets |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| A former scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US has been sentenced to five years in jail for attempting to pass nuclear bomb-making secrets to Venezuela. | A former scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US has been sentenced to five years in jail for attempting to pass nuclear bomb-making secrets to Venezuela. |
| Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni pleaded guilty in 2013 to delivering secrets to an undercover FBI agent, who he thought was a Venezuelan official. | Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni pleaded guilty in 2013 to delivering secrets to an undercover FBI agent, who he thought was a Venezuelan official. |
| Pedro Mascheroni, who is 79, is originally from Argentina. | Pedro Mascheroni, who is 79, is originally from Argentina. |
| His wife was also sentenced to one year in prison. | His wife was also sentenced to one year in prison. |
| Mascheroni was under investigation for about a year before he was charged. | Mascheroni was under investigation for about a year before he was charged. |
| The US intelligence agency, the FBI, seized computers, letters, photographs and books from his home. | |
| Undercover agent | Undercover agent |
| According to court documents, Mr Mascheroni told the undercover FBI agent that he could help Venezuela develop a nuclear bomb within 10 years. | According to court documents, Mr Mascheroni told the undercover FBI agent that he could help Venezuela develop a nuclear bomb within 10 years. |
| He said the country would be able to set up a secret underground nuclear reactor to produce and enrich plutonium. | He said the country would be able to set up a secret underground nuclear reactor to produce and enrich plutonium. |
| Venezuela would also be able to build a plant to produce nuclear energy, he said. | Venezuela would also be able to build a plant to produce nuclear energy, he said. |
| Mr Mascheroni worked for around a decade in a nuclear weapons design division at the Los Alamos laboratory where the the first atomic bomb was developed. | Mr Mascheroni worked for around a decade in a nuclear weapons design division at the Los Alamos laboratory where the the first atomic bomb was developed. |
| He was laid off in 1988. His wife was a technical writer there. | He was laid off in 1988. His wife was a technical writer there. |
| In an interview with Associated Press, he said he had approached other countries after his ideas on cleaner nuclear power were rejected by the laboratory and later by congressional officials. | In an interview with Associated Press, he said he had approached other countries after his ideas on cleaner nuclear power were rejected by the laboratory and later by congressional officials. |
| Mascheroni said he approached Venezuela after the United Sates rejected his theories that a hydrogen-fluoride laser could produce nuclear energy. | Mascheroni said he approached Venezuela after the United Sates rejected his theories that a hydrogen-fluoride laser could produce nuclear energy. |
| The American government has said it does not believe Venezuela was trying to access US nuclear secrets. | The American government has said it does not believe Venezuela was trying to access US nuclear secrets. |