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Published on 06/12/1995 All articles from this issue

FBI agent describes agency's changing focus with fall of Soviet Union

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By Clyde Noel / Town Crier Staff Writer

The way David Szady sees it, The Federal Bureau of Investigation is a great place to work.

"It's so diverse now," he said. "We have women agents, we have Vietnamese, Arabic and Russian agents. It's an unbelievable organization and we now have legal agents going overseas. There is no end to what we are doing."

Speaking at the Morning Forum lecture series in Los Altos last week, Szady spoke about his relationship with spies, violent crimes and espionage. Szady serves the FBI as supervisory special agent of the violent crime and gang programs in the San Jose resident agency.

After growing up in New England, Szady joined the FBI in 1972 and worked organized crime in Mobile, Ala. for two years. From 1974 to 1981, Szady worked on the KGB squad of the bureau's Washington field office, and from 1981 to 1985 he was at FBI headquarters where he supervised the Thomas Patrick Cavanagh and John Walker espionage cases.

He was assigned to San Francisco in August 1985 as supervisor for foreign counter intelligence matters.

"I've become "Californicated" since we live here," Szady told the forum audience at the United Methodist Church. "Living here is a religion and a philosophy. You do everything outside and you don't eat American food. You eat roots and berries and the first meal I ever had in California was at the Good Earth."

In the 17 years Szady spent in counter intelligence, the most notorious spy he ran across was John Walker. "When the judge sentenced him, he referred to George Thorogood and the Destroyers' song, 'Bad to The Bone,' " Szady said. "Because of him, the Soviets at one time had 2,000 spies decoding messages in United States."

The KGB was at one time the most powerful organization in the world, Szady said. The agency was successful at planting spies inside the American Embassy in Moscow. When the embassy was built, the walls were filled with all kinds of microphones and laser-pickups.

"It was a world of deception - a world of despair and a world of betrayal," Szady said. "The KGB was extremely good at recruiting Americans and establishing false relationships. "

Szady also offered some sobering statistics about the state of Russia today.

"We knew the Russian military was not what they claimed to be," Szady said. "Thirty percent of their military never spoke Russian and there was no stability. Today we know that 40 percent of the children have no diphtheria shots, thirty percent of TB cases go to surgery and 18 percent of the women are alcoholics. A third of their crops rot before they get to the market because they have no distribution system and poverty is prevalent everywhere."

Szady said United States officials still have concerns about the nuclear arms left in Russia and the Ukraine, and the possibility of sales to Middle Eastern countries.

"You have to remember they never used them, and maybe never would, and since it's a serious problem, we share information and cooperate with Russia on the control and movement of any nuclear weapons," Szady said.

It's a changing world today for Szady. More than 300 agents are now assigned to violent crimes. They are after crimes in the streets, such as drug dealing and gang activities.

Discussing the "three strikes and you're out" position the courts take, Szady thinks it's a tremendous law when there are serious crimes. "If it's done correctly and the crimes are violent, it's great because they should have learned the first time," he said.

Regarding gun control, Szady said if you want a weapon you can get legally. If you want a tank or a howitzer, that's illegal. He said the law is reasonable if you want a gun for collecting, target shooting or game hunting.

Szady said being an FBI agent has indeed been an exciting experience.

"It makes the adrenaline rush in your system," he said. "The FBI goes after the symptoms. We don't go after the root problem since we only deal with symptoms and that's a 24-hour job. Drugs are an excellent example. The problem has to be solved beyond the people that are arrested."