DATE=5/30/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=I-N-S / CUBA SPY (S-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-262980
BYLINE=MICHAEL BOWMAN
DATELINE=MIAMI
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
Voiced At:


INTRO:  In Miami, a high-ranking U-S Immigration and 
Naturalization Service (I-N-S) official has been 
convicted of passing sensitive information to a 
personal contact with ties to Cuba.  From Miami, V-O-
A's Michael Bowman reports.


TEXT:  The federal jury convicted Mariano Faget on 
charges of espionage and divulging secret information 
for personal gain.  The charges could carry a prison 
term of up to 10 years.

Faget had been the target of an F-B-I sting operation 
in February, when federal agents told him of a senior 
Cuban official who was, supposedly, about to defect.  
Faget relayed the information to a New York 
businessman and long-time friend who has ties to the 
communist-run island.

Faget, who came to the United States from Cuba as a 
teenager, also had contact with at least one diplomat 
from the Cuban Interests Section in Washington who was 
later expelled.

During the trial, Faget said he made a mistake, but 
insisted he never intended to betray the United 
States.   (SIGNED)

NEB/MCB/JP




30-May-2000 14:41 PM EDT (30-May-2000 1841 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.