After serving as a mechanical engineer at Picatinny Arsenal for 27 years, Ben-Ami Kadish retired to a quiet senior citizens' community in Middlesex County.

A World War II veteran, he hung a large U.S. flag from the porch of his tidy one-story home. He and his wife Doris often hosted friends for coffee, cake and meals. She baked and collected canned goods for a local charity; he served a stint as commander of Jewish War Veterans Post 609.

But on March 20 of this year, Kadish knew his past was catching up to him as he accepted a phone call, federal law enforcement officials allege.

"Don't say anything. Let them say whatever they want. You didn't ... do anything," an old friend allegedly told him in Hebrew, referring to an ongoing federal investigation into espionage. "What happened 25 years ago? You didn't remember anything."

But it was too late.

Kadish, the FBI charged Tuesday, was a spy who betrayed the United States. The person on the other end of the line was his handler, a former Israeli government official. Between 1979 and 1985, Kadish swiped between 50 and 100 classified documents for Israel from the U.S. Army base where he worked, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in Manhattan.

The classified documents Kadish allegedly disclosed pertained to nuclear weapons, a modified version of an F-15 fighter jet the U.S. had sold to another country, and the U.S. Patriot missile air defense system, according to the criminal complaint. They were marked "RESTRICTED DATA," "Secret" and "NOFORN," or "Not Releasable to Foreign Nationals."

After serving as a mechanical engineer at Picatinny Arsenal for 27 years, Ben-Ami Kadish retired to a quiet senior citizens' community in Middlesex County.

A World War II veteran, he hung a large U.S. flag from the porch of his tidy one-story home. He and his wife Doris often hosted friends for coffee, cake and meals. She baked and collected canned goods for a local charity; he served a stint as commander of Jewish War Veterans Post 609.

But on March 20 of this year, Kadish knew his past was catching up to him as he accepted a phone call, federal law enforcement officials allege.

"Don't say anything. Let them say whatever they want. You didn't ... do anything," an old friend allegedly told him in Hebrew, referring to an ongoing federal investigation into espionage. "What happened 25 years ago? You didn't remember anything."

But it was too late.

Kadish, the FBI charged Tuesday, was a spy who betrayed the United States. The person on the other end of the line was his handler, a former Israeli government official. Between 1979 and 1985, Kadish swiped between 50 and 100 classified documents for Israel from the U.S. Army base where he worked, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in Manhattan.

The classified documents Kadish allegedly disclosed pertained to nuclear weapons, a modified version of an F-15 fighter jet the U.S. had sold to another country, and the U.S. Patriot missile air defense system, according to the criminal complaint. They were marked "RESTRICTED DATA," "Secret" and "NOFORN," or "Not Releasable to Foreign Nationals."

Not for nothing, but if he had stolen these plans for China, Russia, Iraq, Iran, etc., would there have been more of a public outcry?

Bottom line: The man stole classified documents, including documents on nuclear weapons, and gave them to a foreign country. Espionage is espionage. Throw the book at 'im.

Not to worry. He will rot right next to Pollard for the rest of his life.