Thomas Patrick Cavanagh
{{Short description|American attempted spy for the USSR in 1984}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name = Thomas Patrick Cavanagh
| image_name =
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| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1945}}
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| charge = Espionage
| conviction_penalty = Life imprisonment (Reduced to 16 years)
| conviction_status = Released
| occupation = Aerospace engineer
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}}
Thomas Patrick Cavanagh is an aerospace engineer who was sentenced in 1985 after being convicted of trying to sell stealth bomber secrets to the Soviet Union.
Biography
Cavanagh was arrested at a hotel in Commerce, California, in December 1984, by FBI agents posing as Soviet spies. Cavanagh worked at Northrop, and at the time was undergoing a divorce, and was heavily in debt. He tried to sell classified technology and information for $25,000, {{inflation|USD|25000|1984|r=-3|fmt=eq}}.
He was sentenced to life in prison.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/25/us/engineer-in-stealth-secrets-case-given-life-term.html |title=Engineer in Stealth Secrets Case Given Life Term |newspaper=The New York Times |date=25 May 1985}}{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-03-15-me-35014-story.html |title=Engineer Pleads Guilty to Espionage : He Tried to Sell 'Stealth' Bomber Secrets to Undercover Agents - Los Angeles Times |website=Los Angeles Times |date=15 March 1985}} He was released on parole on March 1, 2001.{{cite web |url=https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/ |title=Thomas Patrick Cavanaugh |work=Locate a Federal Inmate |publisher=Federal Bureau of Prisons}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Soviet Spies}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavanagh, Thomas Patrick}}
Category:American aerospace engineers
Category:American people convicted of attempted spying against the United States
Category:American people convicted of spying for the Soviet Union
Category:American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
Category:Espionage in the United States
Category:People convicted under the Espionage Act of 1917
Category:People paroled from life sentence
Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the United States federal government