Former Army man pleads guilty on one spy charge

Joseph George Helmich Jr., a former US Army man accused of spying for the Soviet Union, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy in the midst of his federal espionage trial Monday. The surprise plea bargain included a government agreement to drop the remaining charges that Helmich sold Soviet agents a maintenance manual, technical details about parts, and key lists for the KL-7 cryptosystem, a top secret US Army coding machine.