economic espionage and acting as an agent of China

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A former engineer for Rockwell International and Boeing was convicted Thursday of economic espionage and acting as an agent of China, authorities said.

Dongfan "Greg" Chung, 73, was accused of stealing restricted technology and Boeing trade secrets, including information related to the space shuttle program and the Delta IV rocket.

U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney convicted him on charges of conspiracy to commit economic espionage; six counts of economic espionage to benefit a foreign country; one count of acting as an agent of the People's Republic of China; and one count of making false statements to the FBI, according to a statement from federal prosecutors.

Carney presided over Chung's three-week bench trial last month. In a bench trial, there is no jury and the judge decides whether to convict a defendant after hearing testimony. Chung was free on bond after his arrest by FBI agents and NASA investigators in February 2008. He was taken into custody after Carney's ruling was read.

Chung, a native of China who is a naturalized United States citizen, was employed by Rockwell International from 1973 until Boeing acquired its defense and space unit in 1996, and by Boeing thereafter. He retired from Boeing in 2002, but returned as a contractor, a position he held until September 2006, prosecutors said.

Chung held a "secret" security clearance, authorities said.

"For years, Mr. Chung stole critical trade secrets from Boeing relating to the space shuttle and the Delta IV rocket -- all for the benefit of the government of China," said David Kris, assistant attorney general for national security, in the prosecutors' statement. "Today's verdict should serve as a warning to others willing to compromise America's economic and national security to assist foreign governments."