In this episode, retired agent Jack Schafer reviews his espionage investigation of John Douglas Charlton, an aerospace engineer who had worked for Lockheed Corporation on their top-secret “Skunk Works” stealth technology project. During a false flag operation, Charlton offered to sell classified information to an undercover FBI agent for $100,000. He was convicted on 10 counts of attempted espionage.
“ The source only reported that somebody from America is selling classified information to a foreign government, and it was stealth technology. So that was my assignment. I didn’t have a name. So what I had to do first is look at who in the United States works with stealth technology, and it turns out that stealth technology was only worked at Lockheed Martin on the Skunk Works, which was located in Palmdale, California, in Plant 42.”—Retired Agent Jack Schafer
Special Agent (Retired)
Jack Schafer
1/1985 – 10/2005
Jack Schafer served in the FBI for nearly 21 years. He was assigned to the Los Angeles Division, where for fifteen years, he conducted counterintelligence and counterterrorism investigations. Later in his Bureau career, he spent seven years as a behavioral analyst for the FBI’s National Security Division’s Behavioral Analysis Program, working on espionage and terrorism investigations. He developed spy recruitment techniques, interviewed terrorists, and trained agents in the art of interrogation and persuasion.
Dr. Jack Schafer earned a Ph.D. in psychology from Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara, California. Currently, he is employed as an Associate Professor at Western Illinois University. He also owns his own consulting company and lectures and consults in the United States and abroad. He contributes online pieces for Psychology Today magazine, has authored/coauthored six books, and has published numerous articles in professional and popular journals. The Like Switch: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Influencing, Attracting, and Winning People Over is his bestselling book.
The following are links to news articles about the investigation of John Douglas Charlton for attempting to sell top-secret “Skunk Works” stealth technology:
The Spokesman Review – 5/26/1995: Lockheed Engineer Charged With Trying To Sell Secrets
Seattle Times – 5/26/1995: Laid-Off Defense Workers Warned: Don’t Sell Secrets
Lockheed Martin – The Skunk Works Legacy
To learn more about how the FBI investigates espionage, listen to these FBI Case File Review episodes:
185: Joe Navarro – Rod Ramsay Espionage Case, Reading Body Language
081: Marc Ruskin – False Flag Espionage, Classified Materials Theft
048: Todd Hulsey – Nuclear Weapons, Mascheroni Spy Case (Part 1)
049: Todd Hulsey – Nuclear Weapons, Mascheroni Spy Case (Part 2)
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