Monday, May. 17, 1993

Smile, You're on . . .

The hidden camera at the U.S. embassy in Athens spotted something suspicious: a communications officer was stuffing documents into his pockets. The telltale videotaping was part of an investigation that led the FBI to charge Steven Lalas, 40, with espionage. He allegedly sold 240 classified documents containing U.S. intelligence on Greece and the former Yugoslavia to the Greek military. Called back to Washington and arrested, Lalas pleaded innocent. State Department officials first suspected a security breach when a Greek official in Washington blurted out something indicating that he knew the contents of a classified U.S. cable.