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Ex-FBI agent, SJSU lecturer, resigns from Livermore lab
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Tony Burchyns, Daily Staff Writer
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Though publicly embarrassed, William Cleveland Jr., who teaches a counterintelligence course and a justice management course this semester, has not been charged with any criminal offense," said Ron Bottini, a writer/editorial assistant for University Advancement.
Department chair Inger Sagatun-Edwards and other administration of justice faculty members were unavailable for comment Friday.
Cleveland, 60, spent 25 years as a China expert in the FBI before retiring in 1993.
He was then hired to head a counterintelligence program at Livermore, one of the nation's leading nuclear laboratories.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, law enforcement agents told the San Francisco Chronicle Thursday that Cleveland is not charged with a crime but is referred to anonymously in affidavits concerning the FBI's investigation of former FBI agent James J. Smith and alleged Chinese spy Katrina Leung.
Smith and Leung were arrested Wednesday in Los Angeles, according to a statement by FBI Director Robert S. Mueller.
Like Cleveland, Smith acknowledged having an affair with Leung in FBI affidavits.
"Allegations that (Smith) caused the loss of classified information, as well as his personal indiscretions with Ms. Leung, are very serious and warrant a strong response," Mueller said.
As a due diligence measure concerning a pending FBI investigation, Livermore director Michael Anastasio immediately placed Cleveland on investigatory leave Thursday, according to a statement from the lab.
When informed of this status, Cleveland chose to resign, according to the statement. Whether Cleveland will decide to finish the semester at SJSU is unclear, Bottini said. "We'll have to stay tuned," Bottini said. "He was probably laying low on Friday."
EDITOR'S NOTE: The above, corrected version of this story appeared in its original form in the printed version of the Spartan Daily and also in uncorrected form earlier online.
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