Ex-LANL couple charged in nuke case

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A former Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist and his wife have been indicted on charges alleging they passed weapons secrets to a person they believed was helping Venezuela develop a nuclear weapons.

The indictments of Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni, 75, and Marjorie Roxby Mascheroni, 67, were announced Friday by New Mexico U.S. Attorney Kenneth Gonzales. The FBI arrested the couple Friday morning, and they later made their initial appearance before a U.S. magistrate in Albuquerque.

The Mascheronis face potential life prison sentences if convicted of all charges.

Pedro Mascheroni, a naturalized citizen and native of Argentina, worked in the LANL X Division from 1979 to 1988 when his security clearance was terminated, according to the indictment which described Marjorie Mascheroni as a technical writer and editor in the lab's Technology Transfer Section beginning in 1981.

The 22-count indictment alleges Pedro Mascheroni met with an undercover FBI agent posing as a representative of the Venezuelan government and offered to development nuclear and laser weapons for the county. His wife is accused of editing documents that were delivered to the undercover agent.

In an October 2009 interview with KRQE News 13 Pedro Mascheroni said he was developing his own nuclear designs because he felt the U.S. weapons program was on the wrong track. He said he received $20,000 from the Venezuelan representative in an envelop he never opened.

He also said he planned to take the $800,000 promised to him to Congress to get its attention on what he described as faulty weapons designs.

By that time the FBI had raided the Mascheronis home in Los Alamos, and he said he feared he would be indicted for treason.

The indictment does not include a treason charge and instead accuses the couple of communicating restricted data, attempting to participate in the construction of an atomic weapon, conspiracy and other charges.

Federal prosecutors and the FBI scheduled a news conference to discuss the indictment Friday afternoon.

U.S Attorney Kenneth Gonzales said when the Mascheronis were hired at LANL they agreed to protect all classified information obtained from the labs.  Gonzales said what the Mascheronis are accused of doing is very serious.

"Our laws are designed to protect restricted data because in the wrong hands because of the potential harm to our national security," Gonzales said.

Marjorie Roxby Mascheroni put up her house to pay her bond.  A hearing is scheduled next week to determine if Mascheroni should be released.