Morton Sobell

Morton Sobell
Sobell during a visit to East Germany in 1976
Born(1917-04-11)April 11, 1917
DiedDecember 26, 2018(2018-12-26) (aged 101)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationElectrical engineer
Criminal statusDeceased
Spouses
Helen Levitov
(m. 1945; div. 1980)
Nancy Gruber
(m. 1993; died 2018)
Children1 son and 1 stepdaughter
Conviction(s)Conspiracy to commit espionage (50 U.S.C. § 32)
Criminal penalty30 years imprisonment

Morton Sobell (April 11, 1917 – December 26, 2018) was an American engineer and Soviet spy during and after World War II; he was charged as part of a conspiracy which included Julius Rosenberg and his wife, Ethel Rosenberg. Sobell worked on military and government contracts with General Electric and Reeves Instrument Corporation in the 1940s, including during World War II. Sobell was tried and convicted of espionage in 1951 and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

He was released in 1969 after serving 17 years and 9 months in prison. After that he became an advocate of socialist causes, conducting public speaking and traveling to Vietnam (during the war), to East Germany (before the fall of the Soviet Union), and to Cuba.