ALBANY, N.Y. – An electrical engineer from upstate New York has been fined $5,000 and sentenced to 180 hours of community service for accusing his boss of spying for another country.
Ryan Letcher, of Endicott, was convicted in August of making a false statement to federal authorities.
Prosecutors say the 39-year-old wrote an anonymous letter to the Defense Security Service in March 2012 accusing his boss at BAE Systems, a defense contractor, of being "foreign intelligence," which they say means spying.
The company's facility in Endicott works on electronics systems.
The FBI investigated his supervisor, concluding he isn't a spy.
According to authorities, Letcher said he sent the letter because of conflict with the supervisor over taking credit for his work.
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