New York Woman, 98, loses bid on atomic spy case conviction

By Larry Neumeister Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) - A 98-year-old New Jersey woman lost her bid last week to persuade a judge to erase her 1950 conviction for conspiracy to obstruct justice in the run-up to the atomic spying trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein rejected Miriam Moskowitz's unusual request immediately after hearing oral arguments, saying her lawyers could not show that transcripts of grand jury statements by the lone witness against her would have changed her trial's result. As he left the bench, he wished her well and told her it was a pleasure to have her in his court. Moskowitz, who lives in New Jersey, served a two-year prison sentence after her conspiracy conviction. "OK, that's the end," a cheerful Moskowitz, walking with a cane toward spectators, told a film crew that has been following her. "You can finish your documentary now." Outside court, she said she was disappointed and referenced the McCarthy era, when fear of Communism was rampant in the United States and a blacklist made it hard for some to find work. The government had opposed Moskowitz's request, saying her conviction was supported by the evidence and that she conspired with two men to lie to a grand jury investigating allegations of atomic espionage. Moskowitz's lawyers said FBI and grand jury statements by the key government witness against her - Harry Gold - were withheld from the defense. They said the papers showed that Gold repeatedly told the FBI that Moskowitz was unaware of plans by others to lie before the grand jury until the government threatened him with the death penalty. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Allen told Hellerstein that the jury heard statements at trial that were similar to statements Moskowitz's lawyers claim are new. Gold served about half of a 30-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to violating the espionage act. The Rosenbergs were convicted of passing nuclear weapons secrets to the Soviet Union and were executed in 1953. Since then, decoded Soviet cables have appeared to confirm that Julius Rosenberg was a spy, but doubts have remained about Ethel Rosenberg's involvement. Published: Mon, Dec 08, 2014