Couple charged in nuclear weapons secrets case

A scientist and his wife who both once worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory were arrested Friday after FBI agents allegedly lured them into what they were told was a conspiracy to help develop a nuclear weapon for Venezuela.

They were accused of offering nuclear weapons secrets to Venezuela, but the U.S. government is not alleging Venezuela or anyone working for it sought U.S. secrets.

Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni, 75, and Marjorie Roxby Mascheroni, 67, a U.S. citizen, were arrested Friday, a day after they were indicted. They appeared in federal court in Albuquerque, where Mascheroni, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Argentina, was ordered held pending another hearing Monday morning. His wife was released under strict conditions.

…According to the 22-count indictment, Mascheroni told the undercover agent he could help Venezuela develop a nuclear bomb within 10 years and that Venezuela would use a secret, underground nuclear reactor to produce and enrich plutonium, and an open, aboveground reactor to produce nuclear energy.

If convicted, the Mascheronis face up to life in prison.