'Mr. Pryor wanted to work for the government, but his arrest on an espionage charge made him unwanted. At General Motors, where he had been a consultant before his arrest, an official said he would not consider him because of his prison record.
“I said, But it was the Commies!'" he recalled responding in a 2015 interview for the website of Swarthmore College, where he taught for many years. "They said, Tough.'”
I remember the Powers-Abel swap, but not this guy. If you don’t know, you can right-click on the link, save the file, then read the copy, to avoid subscribing.
GM didn’t “employ” him, they hired him as a consultant. He was an economist. He was dumb enough to enter communist East Germany and careless enough to gain the notice of the Stasi.
I have very little sympathy for American citizens imprisoned while doing things other countries may find illegal while IN those countries. The rights you have in the USA to do not carry over to other countries. You spray paint other’s cars, you get caned. You steal a banner from an oppressive dictatorship, you might die in one of their jails. You cross their border without permission with a camera, don’t be surprised if you are breaking rocks for 20 years.
I wouldn’t have hired him either. Not because he was imprisoned, because he clearly wasn’t all that bright. I’ve read “Strangers on a Bridge.”