(JTA) — A former U.S. government scientist pleaded guilty to charges of trying to sell classified information to Israel.
Stewart Nozette, who was caught in an FBI sting operation in October 2009, pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
As part of a plea bargain, Nozette was sentenced to 13 years in prison, with credit for the two years he has served since being arrested, according to reports. Nozette was determined to be a flight risk when he was jailed.
He is accused of asking for $2 million from an FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer in 2009 in exchange for the information.
Nozette held security clearances as high as top secret and had access to classified information until at least 2006, according to the Washington Post. He has knowledge about the U.S. nuclear missile program and helped discover evidence of water on the moon’s southern pole.
