"I Gave Them All"

Despite his near-genius IQ of 142, gangling, bespectacled George John Gessner, 28, had never managed to leave much of a mark anywhere. Last week he finally succeeded, but the mark turned out to be black. In a Kansas City, Kans., federal district court, Gessner was found guilty of selling information on U.S. nuclear weapons to the Russians, thus became the first person convicted under the espionage provisions of the 1954 Atomic Energy Act.

Princely Payoff. Gessner had worked for nearly seven years as a nuclear weapons technician, had ample opportunity to gather information of interest to Moscow. At 17, he enlisted in the Air Force, was assigned to guided missile work at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. Discharged four years later, he labored as a civilian on Titan and Atlas missile projects, in 1960 joined the Army and worked on nuclear weapons at Jackson, S.C., and Sandia, N. Mex. Ten months after joining the Army, Gessner deserted and crossed over to Mexico.

One of his first stops was the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City. There and in later meetings in two parks with a couple of Soviet colonels, he handed over detailed descriptions of the Mark VII nuclear weapon, the 280-mm. atomic cannon and an 8-in. nuclear gun. For his trouble, he was given $200 and told to use the money to travel to Cuba.

Gessner never made it to Cuba. He needed a passport to get out of Mexico, but by the time he was able to get one, the Russians had decided he would not be of much further use. His final kissoff was a princely 100 pesos--$8. Gessner drifted south, was arrested in Panama City by cops because he had no registration papers. U.S. authorities quickly took custody of him as a deserter.

Sent up to Fort Hood, Texas, Gessner at first refused to tell interrogators just what he had been up to in Mexico City. Finally, according to former Army Counterintelligence Agent William V. Benson Jr., he broke down after a visit to the post chaplain, gave Benson a tape-recorded confession. "I gave them all," said Gessner of his dealings with the Russians. "I knew these weapons were going to be used on little children." At one point, Benson asked Gessner about a particular weapon. "This is not important. Julius and Ethel gave it to them in 1948," said Gessner. "Julius and Ethel?" asked Benson. Replied Gessner: "Julius and Ethel, yes, my predecessors." Federal Judge Arthur J. Stanley later ordered the references to the Rosenbergs, who were electrocuted in 1953 for giving nuclear secrets to the Russians, stricken from the record.

Loathsome Disease. Though Gessner was indicted for espionage in March 1962, his trial was delayed until last month by four hearings on his mental competence. During the 14-day trial, Gessner's attorneys summoned psychiatrists and former barracksmates to testify that he was a heavy drinker and an unstable character. But psychiatrists called by the Government said he was capable of controlling his conduct. Declared Justice Department Attorney Paul C. Vincent, "I agree he was sick. He was suffering from the most loathsome disease--disloyalty. He betrayed his country."

The Government argued that the information Gessner sold could help the Russians to develop a new weapons system and to gauge U.S. nuclear capabilities. "After you have heard the evidence and had time to realize the enormity of the offense and its possible consequences," said U.S. Attorney Newell George, "I believe you will decide the death penalty would, indeed, be merciful." After four hours and 14 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Gessner guilty, but declined to send him the way of his "predecessors." His sentence: life imprisonment.

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