WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- A former U.S. government scientist who served in sensitive positions on classified aerospace projects was willing to sell `` some of our most guarded secrets '' a prosecutor alleged Tuesday . Stewart David Nozette of Chevy Chase , Maryland , was taken into custody Monday by FBI agents . Stewart David Nozette , 52 , who is charged with attempted espionage , appeared in U.S. District Court Tuesday afternoon . Authorities said in a criminal complaint that Nozette , of Chevy Chase , Maryland , tried to deliver classified information to someone he thought was an Israeli intelligence official , but who was actually an FBI undercover agent . Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Asuncion said Tuesday that evidence will show Nozette disclosed to investigators information that was `` top secret , related to our national defense , that would cause exceptionally grave damage to national security '' if revealed to a foreign country . He said the FBI made videotapes of Nozette indicating he was `` willing to sell some of our most guarded secrets . '' The prosecutor noted that the charges carry a possible life sentence . Nozette answered in the affirmative when Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson asked him whether he understood the seriousness of the charges against him . Other than that , Nozette , who was arrested Monday , made no statements at his initial court appearance . Defense attorney John Kiyonaga did not immediately oppose the government 's request to hold his client without bond , and said his client agreed to waive a deadline for a formal detention hearing . Nozette , who remains in custody , will appear in court again on October 29 for detention and preliminary hearings . In an affidavit , the FBI sets out the case against Nozette , who received a doctorate in planetary sciences from Massachusetts Institute of Technology . The FBI document , signed by Special Agent Leslie G. Martell , says that Nozette in January 2009 told a colleague `` that if the United States government tried to put him in jail '' on an unrelated matter , Nozette would move to Israel or another unidentified foreign country and `` tell them everything '' he knows . Nozette had a `` top secret '' clearance , and served at the White House on the National Space Council for President George H.W . Bush , the affidavit says . Later , from early 2000 to early 2006 , he did research and development for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency , the Naval Research Laboratory , and NASA 's Goddard Space Flight Center , it says . The document says Nozette also acted as a technical consultant from 1998 until early 2008 `` for an aerospace company that was wholly owned by the government of the state of Israel . '' The company consulted with Nozette monthly , getting answers to questions , and he received total payments of $ 225,000 , Martell 's affidavit says . In early September , Nozette was contacted by phone by an individual purporting to be an Israeli intelligence officer , but who really was an FBI undercover agent , the document says . They met in downtown Washington in front of a hotel , and over lunch , Nozette `` demonstrated his willingness to work for Israeli intelligence , '' it says . The undercover agent engaged in a series of meetings with Nozette , and eventually Nozette allegedly provided `` secret '' information in a `` dead drop '' post office box . Some of the information , the affidavit says , was classified as secret . The criminal complaint does not accuse the government of Israel of any violations of U.S. law .
Sewart David Nozette , 52 , appeared in U.S. District Court on Tuesday . The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John P. O’Toole of the Eastern District of Virginia. Charges carry a possible life sentence , prosecutor said . Nozetta showed `` willingness to work for Israeli intelligence , '' complaint states .