John Anthony Walker - Arrest and Imprisonment

Arrest and Imprisonment

By May 1985, John and Barbara Walker had divorced and Barbara, upset by John's refusal to pay her alimony, reported his spying to the FBI. Following an investigation, the FBI arrested Walker, Whitworth, Arthur Walker, and Michael Walker. Ironically, Walker himself was arrested at a motel in Montgomery County, Maryland, using a trick he used to catch people in adultery cases: telephoning his hotel room and telling him his car had been hit in an accident. Barbara Walker was not prosecuted because of her role in disclosing the ring. Former KGB agent Victor Cherkashin, however, details in his book Spy Handler that Walker was compromised by an FBI spy named "Martynov," who overheard officials in Moscow speaking about Walker.

Walker cooperated with authorities and in a plea bargain, he agreed to submit to an unchallenged conviction and life sentence, provide a full disclosure of the details of his spying, and give testimony against Whitworth in exchange for a pledge from the prosecutors that his son would receive a sentence of no more than 25 years imprisonment. All of the members of the spy ring besides Michael Walker received life sentences for their role in the espionage. Whitworth was sentenced to 365 years in prison and fined $410,000 for his involvement. Whitworth is currently incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary, Atwater, a high security federal prison in California.

Walker's son Michael, who had a relatively minor role in the ring and agreed to testify in exchange for a reduced sentence, was released from prison on parole in February 2000.

Walker is currently incarcerated at the Medium Security Prison II in Butner, North Carolina. He is said to be suffering from diabetes and stage IV throat cancer. He is scheduled for release on May 20, 2015, at which point he will have served 30 years in prison.