The Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — An Iranian engineer has pleaded guilty to transporting stolen property he obtained at a former job at the largest nuclear plant in the United States.

Mohammad Reza Alavi, 50, pleaded guilty to the charge in a deal reached Tuesday with federal prosecutors. Another charge against him was dropped.

A federal jury convicted Alavi last month of illegally accessing a protected computer but deadlocked on the two other counts.

He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison a Sept. 29 sentencing hearing.

"We are pleased to have achieved a resolution with the government which fits the case and which enables Mr. Alavi and his family to move forward with their lives," defense attorney David Laufman said.

Alavi, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Iran, worked for Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station west of Phoenix for 17 years.

Authorities said when Alavi quit the station in 2006, he brought a laptop to Iran containing training software with design schematics and other details of the plant. His unauthorized use of the software did not contain enough information to pose a security threat, Palo Verde officials have said.

But prosecutors said Alavi knew he was breaking federal law when he brought the software to Iran and then downloaded codes to use it in Iran.

Last month, a jury convicted Alavi of illegally accessing a protected computer, but it deadlocked on one count of transporting stolen software from the plant and one count of illegally exporting it in violation of the U.S. trade embargo with Iran.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped a charge of violating a U.S. trade embargo. Alavi also agreed not to appeal his conviction of illegally accessing a computer.

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