Accused agent remains free
The interrogation of a Santa Monica man accused of acting as a spy for the North Korean government will be used against him at his trial, a federal judge ruled this week.
William Genego, John Yai’s defense attorney, had asked that the interview with FBI agents shortly after his February arrest be stricken from the record. Genego argued Yai was coerced into answering questions.
Yai is accused of failing to register as an agent for the North Korean government and making false statements to customs officials regarding nearly $20,000 in cash that he and his wife, Susan, brought into the country without reporting.
The former owner of snack shop Bon Appetit on the 1800 block of Wilshire Boulevard faces up to 20 years in jail, prosecutors said.
Yai was arrested in February at his Ocean Park home, located at 909 Grant St. He posted $400,000 bail in April. Genego said the case, if a plea bargain is not reached, is likely to go before jurors this winter.
Genego made four motions Monday afternoon, also arguing that Yai was improperly targeted by federal officials, who then failed to establish that Yai knew he was required by law to register as an agent.
U.S. District Judge George King denied all the motions and ruled in favor of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the case.
“He was not singled out,” said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, adding that Yai also was not coerced during his interrogation.
In the criminal complaint, Yai is accused of operating within the United States at the direction and control of North Korean officials.
The FBI began operating counterintelligence and covert physical searches on Yai in 1995. Investigators bugged his downtown LA office and allegedly intercepted communications between Yai and North Korean officials, which were often loaded with code words, according to a 76-page affidavit written by FBI special agent James Chang.
Though the information was mostly public through newspapers and the Internet, North Korean government officials allegedly instructed Yai in 1998 to obtain classified information, according to the affidavit.
The North Korean government paid Yai to identify and recruit other agents to meet with North Korean officials abroad, authorities allege.
Some of the agents recruited by Yai planned to get jobs in the U.S. government, according to the affidavit. One agent was pursuing a job as a clerk in the California District Attorney’s office and another agent was looking for work in Washington D.C., where she could be close to politicians, authorities allege.
Genego said the case has nothing to do with spying for North Korea.
“No one is saying that his conduct was illegal,” he said Tuesday. “The question here is whether or not he had a legal obligation to (notify U.S. officials).”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 30, 2003. Read the original PDF.