John Semer Farnsworth - A Career in Spying

A Career in Spying

Disgruntled and in need of money, he began spying for Japan, which had been attempting to recruit many Americans for espionage in the 1920s and 1930s. He passed his information to his handlers, Commander Yoshiyuki Ichimiya, assistant Naval attaché at the Japanese Embassy from October 1932 to December 1934 and Lt. Commander Arika Yamaki, who succeeded Itimiya until November 1935. Farnsworth later claimed that he was paid $100 a week plus expenses for his spying.

Despite his disgraceful exit from the Naval service, Farnsworth still had enough social grace to make him acceptable in the best Washington society. He got most of his information by contacting former associates to solicit documents, who were unaware of the true reason for his requests, saying that he needed the information for "magazine articles". He also picked up small bits of Navy information from wives of high-ranking officers and shrewdly pieced them together. Once, feigning drunkenness and pretending that he was a Commander, he boarded a destroyer at Annapolis, tricked an ensign into giving him maneuver data, rushed back to the Japanese Embassy, had them photostatted, and returned them the next day. It was actually easy for him to obtain this as Navy security at that time was relatively lax.

However, when Farnsworth stole a confidential Navy manual The Service of Information and Security, which contained plans for battle information and tactics that were gathered from field maneuvers and tested by high-ranking naval officers, alarm bells were raised, and the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) was called upon to investigate its disappearance. It was learned later that he photostatted the manual and sold it to the Japanese on May 15, 1935.

During the investigation, ONI officers heard that Farnsworth had been flashing large sums of money around naval officers who knew him, despite the fact that he was believed to be destitute. Further investigation revealed that he borrowed code and signal books and had been asking questions about tactics, new ship designs, and weapons. Finally, the wife of high-ranking officer living in Annapolis complained to the ONI that Farnsworth was pushing her to allow him to read official documents. Thus, he was placed under joint surveillance by the ONI and the FBI.