Ex-Los Alamos Scientist Plans Book

Tuesday, November 21st 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) â€” Former Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee, once the center of an espionage investigation involving the nuclear weapons complex, plans to pen his story in a first-person book due out next year.

A TV miniseries on Lee is also in the works, said David Weil, the Los Angeles lawyer who helped broker both deals.

Lee, 60, was fired last year from Los Alamos National Laboratory and accused of downloading nuclear information to unsecured computer tapes. He pleaded guilty in September to one count of mishandling nuclear secrets and was sentenced to time served. He had been charged with 59 counts.

The handling of Lee's prosecution brought stinging criticism and allegations that he was singled out because of his race. Lee was born in Taiwan and is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

As part of his release, Lee is undergoing several hours of FBI interrogation. Much of that information is classified and won't end up in print, Weil said.

Lee signed the book deal with publishing firm Hyperion, a branch of ABC Inc. With help from a co-author, Weil said Lee will reveal the personal side to his saga.

``It'll be 'Dr. Lee tells all' within the confines of the security clearances he has,'' Weil said.

The book is due out in the fall of 2001.

The planned miniseries is tentatively scheduled to air during the fall sweeps week of 2001, said Stacey Cohen, a spokeswoman for the Lee family. It will be produced by Robert Greenwald Productions Inc. of Culver City, Calif.

Alys Shanti, vice president of the production company, would not discuss how much Lee and his family were paid in the miniseries deal. She did say, however, that Lee was reluctant to sell his story.

``It took me four months to even get the door open,'' she said. ``He was actually still in court when we were aggressively pursuing the family rights.''