William Perl
Encyclopedia
William Perl, whose real name was William Mutterperl, was an American physicist and Soviet spy.
While a student at the City College of New York
, Perl joined the Steinmetz Club, the campus branch of the Young Communist League
, where he met and befriended Julius Rosenberg, Morton Sobell
and Joel Barr
. Perl graduated with a degree in engineering in 1939, and in 1940 began working for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
(NACA) at their Langley Army Air Base research facility in Hampton, Virginia
. In 1944 Perl transferred to the NACA Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio
. Both jobs provided Perl with access to extensive classified materials
. NACA sent Perl to Columbia University
to pursue doctoral studies in Physics
. While at Columbia, Perl lived in the same Morton Street apartment where Barr and Alfred Sarant
had lived.
Following his doctoral work at Columbia, Perl returned to Cleveland to work on a jet propulsion
project related to supersonic
flight. Perl was nearly given a position with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
when his connection with Barr and Sarant, suspected Communists, was turned up by a security check. In July 1950, Vivian Glassman, Barr's fiancée, visited Perl in Cleveland to give him $2,000, advising him to go to Europe
. Unlike Barr and Sarant, Perl decided not to flee the country, perhaps thinking he might be able to salvage his career.
Perl appeared before the Rosenberg Grand Jury in the summer of 1950, denying any relationship with Julius Rosenberg, Morton Sobell, Max Elitcher
, Ann Sidorovich, and Michael Sidorovich. The Federal Bureau of Investigation
suspected Perl of providing information to the Soviet Union
, and he was arrested on March 15, 1951. Evidence that Perl had engaged in espionage
activities was mostly circumstantial, so the FBI was forced to settle for perjury
charges. In May 1953 a jury found Perl guilty of two counts of perjury for lying about his relationship with Rosenberg and Sobell. He was acquitted of two other counts. Perl served two concurrent 5 year sentences at the New York
House of Detention, maintaining his innocence in any espionage plot.
, a joint British-American attempt to decode Soviet coded messages, strongly suggests that Perl was indeed a spy, although both the accuracy and utility of the VENONA descriptions remain under dispute. A June 16, 1944, cable to Moscow reports that Perl had given the KGB
"material information about air units for new aircraft." The information was thought so valuable that Perl was given a bonus of $500. John Earl Haynes
and Harvey Klehr
have suggested that data provided by him aided the Soviets in the unique tail-fin design of the MiG-15
fighter used in the Korean War
.
It is thought that William Perl's codenames in Soviet intelligence are "Gnome", "Yakov", and "Jacob". He is referenced in the following Venona project
decryptions:
While a student at the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
, Perl joined the Steinmetz Club, the campus branch of the Young Communist League
Young Communist League
The Young Communist League was or is the name used by the youth wing of various Communist parties around the world. The name YCL of XXX was generally taken by all sections of the Communist Youth International.Examples of YCLs:...
, where he met and befriended Julius Rosenberg, Morton Sobell
Morton Sobell
Morton Sobell is a former spy for the Soviet Union. Sobell was an American engineer working for General Electric and Reeves Electronics on military and government contracts. He was found guilty of spying for the Soviets , and sentenced to 30 years in prison...
and Joel Barr
Joel Barr
Joel Barr , also Iozef Veniaminovich Berg and Joseph Berg, was part of the Soviet Atomic Spy Ring...
. Perl graduated with a degree in engineering in 1939, and in 1940 began working for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics was a U.S. federal agency founded on March 3, 1915 to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958 the agency was dissolved, and its assets and personnel transferred to the newly created National Aeronautics and...
(NACA) at their Langley Army Air Base research facility in Hampton, Virginia
Hampton, Virginia
Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
. In 1944 Perl transferred to the NACA Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. Both jobs provided Perl with access to extensive classified materials
Classified information
Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation...
. NACA sent Perl to Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
to pursue doctoral studies in Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
. While at Columbia, Perl lived in the same Morton Street apartment where Barr and Alfred Sarant
Alfred Sarant
Alfred Epaminondas Sarant, also known as Filipp Georgievich Staros and Philip Georgievich Staros , was an engineer and a member of the Communist party in New York City in 1944. He was part of the Rosenberg spy ring that reported to Soviet intelligence...
had lived.
Following his doctoral work at Columbia, Perl returned to Cleveland to work on a jet propulsion
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
project related to supersonic
Supersonic
Supersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound . For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C this speed is approximately 343 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,235 km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound are often...
flight. Perl was nearly given a position with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
when his connection with Barr and Sarant, suspected Communists, was turned up by a security check. In July 1950, Vivian Glassman, Barr's fiancée, visited Perl in Cleveland to give him $2,000, advising him to go to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Unlike Barr and Sarant, Perl decided not to flee the country, perhaps thinking he might be able to salvage his career.
Perl appeared before the Rosenberg Grand Jury in the summer of 1950, denying any relationship with Julius Rosenberg, Morton Sobell, Max Elitcher
Max Elitcher
Max Elitcher Because of his close friendship with Morton Sobell and Julius Rosenberg, as well as his damaging testimony, Max Elitcher was the most injurious prosecution witness in the Rosenberg case. Elitcher and Sobell became friends while attending Stuyvesant High School together. The two men...
, Ann Sidorovich, and Michael Sidorovich. The Federal Bureau of Investigation
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...
suspected Perl of providing information to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and he was arrested on March 15, 1951. Evidence that Perl had engaged in espionage
Espionage
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...
activities was mostly circumstantial, so the FBI was forced to settle for perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
charges. In May 1953 a jury found Perl guilty of two counts of perjury for lying about his relationship with Rosenberg and Sobell. He was acquitted of two other counts. Perl served two concurrent 5 year sentences at the 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...
House of Detention, maintaining his innocence in any espionage plot.
Venona
Certain material from the VENONA projectVenona project
The VENONA project was a long-running secret collaboration of the United States and United Kingdom intelligence agencies involving cryptanalysis of messages sent by intelligence agencies of the Soviet Union, the majority during World War II...
, a joint British-American attempt to decode Soviet coded messages, strongly suggests that Perl was indeed a spy, although both the accuracy and utility of the VENONA descriptions remain under dispute. A June 16, 1944, cable to Moscow reports that Perl had given the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
"material information about air units for new aircraft." The information was thought so valuable that Perl was given a bonus of $500. John Earl Haynes
John Earl Haynes
John Earl Haynes is an American historian who is a specialist in 20th century political history in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress...
and Harvey Klehr
Harvey Klehr
Harvey E. Klehr is a professor of politics and history at Emory University; he is known for his books on the subject of the American Communist movement, and on Soviet espionage in America ....
have suggested that data provided by him aided the Soviets in the unique tail-fin design of the MiG-15
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 was a jet fighter developed for the USSR by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful swept-wing jet fighters, and it achieved fame in the skies over Korea, where early in the war, it outclassed all straight-winged enemy fighters in...
fighter used in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
It is thought that William Perl's codenames in Soviet intelligence are "Gnome", "Yakov", and "Jacob". He is referenced in the following Venona project
Venona project
The VENONA project was a long-running secret collaboration of the United States and United Kingdom intelligence agencies involving cryptanalysis of messages sent by intelligence agencies of the Soviet Union, the majority during World War II...
decryptions:
- 717 KGB New York to Moscow, 10 May 1944
- 732 KGB New York to Moscow, 20 May 1944
- 854 KGB New York to Moscow, 16 June 1944
- 1048 KGB New York to Moscow, 25 July 1944
- 1251 KGB New York to Moscow, 2 September 1944
- 1314 KGB New York to Moscow, 14 September 1944
- 1491 KGB New York to Moscow, 22 October 1944
- 1536 KGB New York to Moscow, 28 October 1944
- 1797 KGB New York to Moscow, 20 December 1944
- 954 KGB Moscow to New York, 20 September 1944
- 154 KGB Moscow to New York, 16 February 1945
- 224 Moscow to New York, 13 March 1945
- 305 KGB Moscow to New York, 1 April 1945