Bayside NYPD Officer Accused Of Being Chinese Spy: Feds

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — A Queens cop acted as an agent for China and spied on ethnic Tibetans in New York City, according to federal authorities.

Baimadajie Angwang, 33, was arrested by FBI agents ahead of a hearing Monday on a slew of federal charges, including acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China and wire fraud.

The accusations against Angwang, who worked for the NYPD's 111th Precinct in Bayside and served with the U.S. Army Reserve, are laid out in a 24-page complaint detailing more than 100 contacts between Angwang and Chinese officials.

Angwang told unnamed Chinese officials about the activities of ethnic Tibetans in New York City, sent them names of Tibetan individuals who could be recruited as potential intelligence sources, offered to connect consulate officials with members of the NYPD and provided information on internal police operations, according to federal court records.

He also provided them with information about members of Chinese ethnic minorities who worked for elected officials in New York State and were suspected of harboring negative views of the People's Republic of China, according to federal court records.

“For your work, is there anything else that I can do?” Angwang asked one Chinese official he referred to as “big brother.”

Tibet is an autonomous region in China with a now-global independence movement. Angwang himself is of Tibetan descent and is a naturalized U.S. citizen, according to the complaint.

The communications between Angwang and Chinese officials, one of whom is identified as his “boss” or handler, detail how he was successfully recruited as an asset.

“Let them know you have recruited one in the police department,” Angwang told an official to tell his superiors in Beijing, according to the documents.

As a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, Angwang held a "secret" security clearance. In the complaint, federal prosecutors accused him of lying about his contacts with China on his application for a national security position, which is used to do background investigations of individuals who will have access to sensitive or classified information or hold a sensitive position.

Authorities pressed for Angwang to be held without bail, claiming he poses a “serious risk of flight” and referencing high-dollar wire transfers in his name.

“This is the definition of an insider threat - as alleged, Mr. Angwang operated on behalf of a foreign government; lied to gain his clearance, and used his position as an NYPD police officer to aid the Chinese government's subversive and illegal attempts to recruit intelligence sources,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr., said in a statement.

Federal prosecutors said Angwang faces up to 55 years in prison if he is convicted.