John Semer Farnsworth
Encyclopedia
John Semer Farnsworth was a former United States Navy
officer who was convicted of spying for Japan
during the 1930s. He was identified as Agent K in radio messages intercepted by the Office of Naval Intelligence
.
in 1911 on the recommendation of then-Representative
Nicholas Longworth
. He became notorious for his bibulous escapades, earning him the nickname "Dodo" (among others). The Naval Academy yearbook described him as "daring and reckless", further stating that if Farnsworth lived in the days of the old navy, he "would have been famous for his desperate deeds and hairbreadth escapes". Nevertheless, he was also recognized for his sterling abilities as a future naval officer. Upon graduation four years later, he was assigned to the US Asiatic Fleet, mainly onboard destroyers. He returned to the United States
in 1917 with the temporary rank of lieutenant
. Afterwards he took flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola
in 1920. He received ratings on seaplanes and airships when he completed training in 1922. He then returned to Annapolis, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and finally a college in New York
for his post-graduate studies. He eventually attained the rank of lieutenant commander
.
After marrying a society woman, Farnsworth got heavily into debt, and borrowed money from an enlisted man, which he refused to repay. Because of this, Farnsworth, once considered to be one of the brightest young officers of the Navy, was brought to a court-martial
in 1927. For conduct "tending to impair the morale of the service" and "scandalous conduct tending to the destruction of good morale", he was found guilty and was given a dishonorable discharge from the service on November 12, 1927.
in the 1920s and 1930s. He passed his information to his handler
s, Commander Yoshiyuki Ichimiya, assistant Naval attaché at the Japanese Embassy from October 1932 to December 1934 and Lt. Commander Arika Yamaki, who succeeded Itimiya until November 1935. Farnsworth later claimed that he was paid $100 a week plus expenses for his spying.
Despite his disgraceful exit from the Naval service, Farnsworth still had enough social grace to make him acceptable in the best Washington society. He got most of his information by contacting former associates to solicit documents, who were unaware of the true reason for his requests, saying that he needed the information for "magazine articles". He also picked up small bits of Navy information from wives of high-ranking officers and shrewdly pieced them together. Once, feigning drunkenness and pretending that he was a Commander, he boarded a destroyer
at Annapolis, tricked an ensign
into giving him maneuver data, rushed back to the Japanese Embassy, had them photostatted
, and returned them the next day. It was actually easy for him to obtain this as Navy security at that time was relatively lax.
However, when Farnsworth stole a confidential Navy manual The Service of Information and Security, which contained plans for battle information and tactics that were gathered from field maneuvers and tested by high-ranking naval officers, alarm bells were raised, and the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) was called upon to investigate its disappearance. It was learned later that he photostatted the manual and sold it to the Japanese on May 15, 1935.
During the investigation, ONI officers heard that Farnsworth had been flashing large sums of money around naval officers who knew him, despite the fact that he was believed to be destitute. Further investigation revealed that he borrowed code
and signal books and had been asking questions about tactics, new ship designs, and weapons. Finally, the wife of high-ranking officer living in Annapolis complained to the ONI that Farnsworth was pushing her to allow him to read official documents. Thus, he was placed under joint surveillance by the ONI and the FBI
.
for the Hearst
newspapers, Fulton Lewis Jr.
in early 1936. He proposed to Lewis that he would write a series of articles entitled: "How I was a Spy in the American Navy for the Japanese Government" for $20,000 in an apparent effort to convince him that he was a double agent
. He also gave the condition that he would be given a head start
to catch the zeppelin
Hindenburg
for Germany
. Lewis promptly informed Capt. William D. Puleston, the Director
of the ONI of the encounter.
The next time Farnsworth and Lewis met, the latter demanded proof of the former's relations with the Japanese. Farnsworth then called up Commander Yamaguchi in Lewis' presence and demanded money from the officer. A meeting was arranged, and Farnsworth tried to convince Lewis to accompany him by posing as a cabdriver. Lewis refused, but so anxious was Farnsworth to prove his bonafides that he took Lewis to the office where he had the confidential manual photostatted, as well as proving other corroborating evidence to his story.
The case was given to a grand jury
. During the grand jury testimony, it was revealed that Farnsworth had telephoned the Japanese Embassy twice on the day before his arrest. Lt. Commander Leslie G. Genhres testified that Farnsworth took the confidential study from his desk in the Navy Department on August 1, 1934. An employee of the navy photostat plant, Mrs. Grace Jamieson, said that Farnsworth made frequent visits to the plant to copy military documents.
Based on this, the grand jury indicted Farnsworth on the charge of selling to the Japanese the confidential manual, as well as conspiracy to do the same; in the indictment, the grand jury also included Lt. Commanders Itimiya and Yamaki, who promptly left for Japan. If found guilty, Farnsworth would face a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Although Farnsworth indicated that he would base his defence on an aircraft accident he had when he took courses in NAS Pensacola, making him "irresponsible", the Navy shot down that argument, saying that no record of such an accident existed. His lawyer, in turn, asked the court-martial commission to have Itimiya and Yamaki testify in Farnsworth's defence through the American Consul General in Tokyo
. However, Japan refused the request, citing Japanese law prohibiting military officers from being compelled to answer questions in a foreign country.
On February 15, 1937, Farnsworth changed his not-guilty plea to nolo contendere
, dispensing with a jury trial
and leaving the judge to decide on the case; if the trial had proceeded, the prosecution would have been ready to prove its case by presenting a parade of witnesses and other evidence. When the judge heard the no-contest plea, he indicated that he would review the aspects of the case before he pronounced sentence. However, a few days later, Farnsworth again changed his plea to not guilty. He reasoned out that he made his plea without prior counsel and it was based on the notoriety that resulted from his case. The judge said that Farnsworth was within his rights to change his plea before sentencing and that he would hear his motion.
This was, in fact, the first of Farnsworth's attempts to have his case dismissed. His defence team withdrew, and he informed the judge that he would conduct his defence pro se. His next move was to file a writ of habeas corpus to obtain his release. He argued that the facts alleged in the indictment, under which he was convicted, did not constitute a crime. He further argued that he did not know that nolo contendere was tantamount to a guilty plea and wanted to withdraw the plea, but was met with rejection. The court was not in any way convinced of these arguments and denied his writ.
Secret Missions: The Story of an Intelligence Officer, 1946.
In January 1938, he appealed the judge's decision in his petition for the writ of habeas corpus by arguing that the court erred in ruling that a petitioner could not be released "from unlawful imprisonment" by habeas corpus proceedings; further, that the court did not have jurisdiction in the first place and had no power to pronounce an indeterminate sentence. Despite his efforts, his appeal was rejected and his sentence upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
.
He served an eleven-year prison term. He died in Manhattan
at age 59.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
officer who was convicted of spying for Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
during the 1930s. He was identified as Agent K in radio messages intercepted by the Office of Naval Intelligence
Office of Naval Intelligence
The Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland...
.
Naval career and court-martial
Farnsworth, who was born in Chicago, Illinois to Frederick Wilkinson Farnsworth and Anna M. Semer, was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MarylandAnnapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
in 1911 on the recommendation of then-Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Nicholas Longworth
Nicholas Longworth
Nicholas Longworth IV was a prominent American politician in the Republican Party during the first few decades of the 20th century...
. He became notorious for his bibulous escapades, earning him the nickname "Dodo" (among others). The Naval Academy yearbook described him as "daring and reckless", further stating that if Farnsworth lived in the days of the old navy, he "would have been famous for his desperate deeds and hairbreadth escapes". Nevertheless, he was also recognized for his sterling abilities as a future naval officer. Upon graduation four years later, he was assigned to the US Asiatic Fleet, mainly onboard destroyers. He returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1917 with the temporary rank of lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. Afterwards he took flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola , "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United States Navy base located next to Warrington, Florida, a community southwest of the Pensacola city limits...
in 1920. He received ratings on seaplanes and airships when he completed training in 1922. He then returned to Annapolis, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
and finally a college in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
for his post-graduate studies. He eventually attained the rank of lieutenant commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
.
After marrying a society woman, Farnsworth got heavily into debt, and borrowed money from an enlisted man, which he refused to repay. Because of this, Farnsworth, once considered to be one of the brightest young officers of the Navy, was brought to a court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
in 1927. For conduct "tending to impair the morale of the service" and "scandalous conduct tending to the destruction of good morale", he was found guilty and was given a dishonorable discharge from the service on November 12, 1927.
A career in spying
Disgruntled and in need of money, he began spying for Japan, which had been attempting to recruit many Americans for espionageEspionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
in the 1920s and 1930s. He passed his information to his handler
Handler
- People :* Animal handler, person who conducts animal training or is a wrangler * Handler, a coach, sports agent of a sports player, or entertainer promoter* Agent handler, person who manages a spy...
s, Commander Yoshiyuki Ichimiya, assistant Naval attaché at the Japanese Embassy from October 1932 to December 1934 and Lt. Commander Arika Yamaki, who succeeded Itimiya until November 1935. Farnsworth later claimed that he was paid $100 a week plus expenses for his spying.
Despite his disgraceful exit from the Naval service, Farnsworth still had enough social grace to make him acceptable in the best Washington society. He got most of his information by contacting former associates to solicit documents, who were unaware of the true reason for his requests, saying that he needed the information for "magazine articles". He also picked up small bits of Navy information from wives of high-ranking officers and shrewdly pieced them together. Once, feigning drunkenness and pretending that he was a Commander, he boarded a destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
at Annapolis, tricked an ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
into giving him maneuver data, rushed back to the Japanese Embassy, had them photostatted
Photostat machine
The Photostat machine, or Photostat, was an early projection photocopier created in the 1900s by the Photostat Corporation; "Photostat" - which was originally a trademark of the company - is also used to refer to the similar machines produced by the Rectigraph Company.-Background:The growth of...
, and returned them the next day. It was actually easy for him to obtain this as Navy security at that time was relatively lax.
However, when Farnsworth stole a confidential Navy manual The Service of Information and Security, which contained plans for battle information and tactics that were gathered from field maneuvers and tested by high-ranking naval officers, alarm bells were raised, and the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) was called upon to investigate its disappearance. It was learned later that he photostatted the manual and sold it to the Japanese on May 15, 1935.
During the investigation, ONI officers heard that Farnsworth had been flashing large sums of money around naval officers who knew him, despite the fact that he was believed to be destitute. Further investigation revealed that he borrowed code
Codebook
A codebook is a type of document used for gathering and storing codes. Originally codebooks were often literally books, but today codebook is a byword for the complete record of a series of codes, regardless of physical format.-Cryptography:...
and signal books and had been asking questions about tactics, new ship designs, and weapons. Finally, the wife of high-ranking officer living in Annapolis complained to the ONI that Farnsworth was pushing her to allow him to read official documents. Thus, he was placed under joint surveillance by the ONI and the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
.
Meetings with a journalist
When Commander Yamaki was replaced by Commander Bunjiro Yamaguchi on November 1935, the latter decided to pay Farnsworth on a piecemeal, rather on a retainer, basis. Faced with a sudden drop in income, and somehow having got wind that investigators were closing in on him, he approached the Washington correspondentCorrespondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
for the Hearst
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
newspapers, Fulton Lewis Jr.
Fulton Lewis
Fulton Lewis, Jr. was a prominent conservative American radio broadcaster from the 1930s to the 1960s.-Early life and career:...
in early 1936. He proposed to Lewis that he would write a series of articles entitled: "How I was a Spy in the American Navy for the Japanese Government" for $20,000 in an apparent effort to convince him that he was a double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
. He also gave the condition that he would be given a head start
Head start (positioning)
In positioning, a head start is a start in advance of the starting position of others in competition, or simply toward the finish line or desired outcome...
to catch the zeppelin
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
Hindenburg
Hindenburg disaster
The Hindenburg disaster took place on Thursday, May 6, 1937, as the German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, which is located adjacent to the borough of Lakehurst, New Jersey...
for Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Lewis promptly informed Capt. William D. Puleston, the Director
Director of Naval Intelligence
The Director of Naval Intelligence refers to either one of two posts, both related to naval intelligence:* The head of the Naval Intelligence Division of the British Admiralty; or* The head of the Office of Naval Intelligence in the United States....
of the ONI of the encounter.
The next time Farnsworth and Lewis met, the latter demanded proof of the former's relations with the Japanese. Farnsworth then called up Commander Yamaguchi in Lewis' presence and demanded money from the officer. A meeting was arranged, and Farnsworth tried to convince Lewis to accompany him by posing as a cabdriver. Lewis refused, but so anxious was Farnsworth to prove his bonafides that he took Lewis to the office where he had the confidential manual photostatted, as well as proving other corroborating evidence to his story.
Arrest, trial and conviction
Faced with this evidence, Lewis told Puleston again, who arranged for Farnsworth's arrest on July 14, 1936, was charged with selling confidential information to the Japanese. He was held on $10,000 bond until his preliminary hearing.The case was given to a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
. During the grand jury testimony, it was revealed that Farnsworth had telephoned the Japanese Embassy twice on the day before his arrest. Lt. Commander Leslie G. Genhres testified that Farnsworth took the confidential study from his desk in the Navy Department on August 1, 1934. An employee of the navy photostat plant, Mrs. Grace Jamieson, said that Farnsworth made frequent visits to the plant to copy military documents.
Based on this, the grand jury indicted Farnsworth on the charge of selling to the Japanese the confidential manual, as well as conspiracy to do the same; in the indictment, the grand jury also included Lt. Commanders Itimiya and Yamaki, who promptly left for Japan. If found guilty, Farnsworth would face a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Although Farnsworth indicated that he would base his defence on an aircraft accident he had when he took courses in NAS Pensacola, making him "irresponsible", the Navy shot down that argument, saying that no record of such an accident existed. His lawyer, in turn, asked the court-martial commission to have Itimiya and Yamaki testify in Farnsworth's defence through the American Consul General in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. However, Japan refused the request, citing Japanese law prohibiting military officers from being compelled to answer questions in a foreign country.
On February 15, 1937, Farnsworth changed his not-guilty plea to nolo contendere
Nolo contendere
is a legal term that comes from the Latin for "I do not wish to contend." It is also referred to as a plea of no contest.In criminal trials, and in some common law jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of...
, dispensing with a jury trial
Jury trial
A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge...
and leaving the judge to decide on the case; if the trial had proceeded, the prosecution would have been ready to prove its case by presenting a parade of witnesses and other evidence. When the judge heard the no-contest plea, he indicated that he would review the aspects of the case before he pronounced sentence. However, a few days later, Farnsworth again changed his plea to not guilty. He reasoned out that he made his plea without prior counsel and it was based on the notoriety that resulted from his case. The judge said that Farnsworth was within his rights to change his plea before sentencing and that he would hear his motion.
This was, in fact, the first of Farnsworth's attempts to have his case dismissed. His defence team withdrew, and he informed the judge that he would conduct his defence pro se. His next move was to file a writ of habeas corpus to obtain his release. He argued that the facts alleged in the indictment, under which he was convicted, did not constitute a crime. He further argued that he did not know that nolo contendere was tantamount to a guilty plea and wanted to withdraw the plea, but was met with rejection. The court was not in any way convinced of these arguments and denied his writ.
Sentencing and appeal
On February 27, 1937, John Semer Farnsworth was sentenced to four to twelve years in prison for conspiring "to communicate and transmit to a foreign government—to wit Japan—writings, code books, photographs and plans relating to the national defense with the intent that they should be used to the injury of the United States". Details of the Farnsworth case appeared in Alan Hynd's 1943 book, Betrayal From the East: The Inside Story of the Japanese Spies in America. Also in Captain Ellis M. ZachariasEllis M. Zacharias
Ellis Mark Zacharias, Sr. was a Rear admiral and naval attaché to Japan, who served in World War I and World War II...
Secret Missions: The Story of an Intelligence Officer, 1946.
In January 1938, he appealed the judge's decision in his petition for the writ of habeas corpus by arguing that the court erred in ruling that a petitioner could not be released "from unlawful imprisonment" by habeas corpus proceedings; further, that the court did not have jurisdiction in the first place and had no power to pronounce an indeterminate sentence. Despite his efforts, his appeal was rejected and his sentence upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana...
.
He served an eleven-year prison term. He died in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
at age 59.