The Nation - News from Aug. 30, 1988

Federal officials used a disguised helicopter and a U.S. Customs pilot to trick imprisoned “technobandit” Werner Bruchhausen into trying to escape, then foiled the attempt, authorities said. Bruchhausen, 45, is serving a 15-year sentence for selling high-tech secrets to the Soviet Union and other Eastern bloc countries. On Sunday evening, a black Vietnam War-era helicopter swooped over the prison wall at the low-security Federal Correctional Institute in Tallahassee, Fla., and appeared to make a landing. Bruchhausen ran toward the helicopter, only to see it rise and take off. Warden Robert Honsted said officials were tipped by unnamed sources 2 1/2 weeks ago that Bruchhausen was planning an escape. By monitoring his outgoing telephone calls, officials pieced together his plans. Bruchhausen has been moved to the high-security Atlanta Federal Penitentiary and may be charged with attempted escape and conspiracy to escape.