NATION : Baker Fires Espionage Suspect
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WASHINGTON — Felix S. Bloch, the career diplomat who was suspected of espionage, was fired today by Secretary of State James A. Baker III because of “deliberate false statements,” the State Department announced.
Bloch, who had been under investigation since early last year on suspicion of passing secrets to Soviet agents, was given written notice of Baker’s decision.
In a brief statement, the department said Baker found that the 55-year-old Bloch’s removal from the Foreign Service “was necessary because of his deliberate false statements or misrepresentations to the FBI in the course of a national security investigation.”
His dismissal also was based on his “behavior, activities and associations,” the statement said, with no further elaboration.
On Feb. 8, the State Department suspended Bloch from his $80,700-a-year job in the European Affairs Bureau and said it would seek to fire him.
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