A former U.S. State Department worker accused of spying for Cuba was sentenced to life in prison without parole, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday.
“Walter Kendall Myers, a former State Department official, and his wife, Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and 81 months in prison, respectively,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
The Justice Department said the two got their sentence for their roles in a nearly 30-year conspiracy to provide highly- classified U.S. defense information to Cuba.
The couple were arrested on June 4, 2009 by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and have remained in custody ever since.
In November 2009, Kendall Myers, the 73-year-old husband, pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit espionage, while his wife, Gwendolyn Myers, pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to gather and transmit national defense information.
The couple were recruited by Cuban intelligence officers in 1979, according to information disclosed by the Justice Department.
