Washington vicering sold data to spies, panel told

A prostitution and pornography ring in Washington sold information on its clients to Soviet, British, and Israeli spy agencies, an investigator for the Senate Select Committee on Crime said.

The disclosure came during a hearing Monday at which an investigator said the Washington ring was part of a nationwide network that also flourishes in New York, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Investigator Dale Smith said he learned about British and Israeli intelligence purchases from Robert Kohler, who allegedly worked as an accountant for several of the prostitution services in the Washington area. He did not say whether the clients were government officials.