Hansen even notched up a few local hunting records. They were deported and arrested. In May 2002, Hanssen was sentenced to life in prison. In the letter, Hanssen revealed that he had dreamed of being a spy against his country since the age of 14, after reading a book about Kim Philby the British intelligence officer who was also a Russian double agent. As it turned out, Hanssen had just been spotted by agents driving at a snails pace past the sign for Foxstone Park in Vienna, Va. In January 2001, Hanssen moved into a small office in FBI Headquarters secretly outfitted with surveillance cameras and microphones. The affidavit alleges that Hanssen voluntarily became an agent of the KGB in 1985 while assigned to the intelligence division at the FBI field office in New York City as supervisor of a foreign counterintelligence squad. In court proceedings the government stated that Hanssen had been paid more than $1.4 million during his spying career, most of which he never actually received, as it was held for him in a Russian bank. Before concluding, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet for the cooperation and assistance of his agency in this investigation. Robert Hanssen moments after being arrested. Breaking her five-month silence, the wife of FBI spy Robert Philip Hanssen said Thursday that she deeply regrets the damage her husband has caused the United States and believes it is appropriate that he spend the rest of his life in prison. Heres a list, Greek transportation minister resigns over train collision as death toll keeps rising, Ohios senators to unveil rail safety bill in wake of East Palestine derailment, After months of pounding, Ukrainian official says military may pull back from Bakhmut, Elizabeth Holmes cites her new baby as a reason she should avoid prison for Theranos scam. Robert Phillip Hanssen was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 18, 1944. Troubled by the incident, Bonnie Hanssen made her husband speak with a Catholic priest, who directed him to contribute money to Mother Teresa, the Catholic nun who ran a Calcutta charitable organization, as a form of penance, Brookner said. One notable example was the information that the Americans had dug a tunnel under the Russian embassy in Washington to install sophisticated listening devices. Timeline. He compromised the security of his country and put the lives of colleagues in danger. Heart Of Darkness. Robert Philip Hanssen, a 27 year veteran of the FBI, was a double agent. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Further, the complaint alleges that Hanssen, using his training and experience to protect himself from discovery by the FBI, never met face-to-face with his Russian handlers, never revealed to them his true identity or where he worked, constantly checked FBI records for signs he and the drop sites he was using were being investigated, refused any foreign travel to meet with the Russians, and even declined to accept any trade craft. Hanssen never displayed outward signs that he was receiving large amounts of unexplained cash. Assistant Eric O'Neill (right) tells in his new book how he helped. The answer shocked ONeill, then 26. One eye twitched.. The astonishing letter gave the FBI what it had long sought definitive proof that Hanssen was the spy who had been betraying them since 1985, doing colossal damage to the USs counterintelligence capabilities by, among other things, revealing the identities of their undercover agents. Literally, Hanssens colleagues and coworkers at the FBI conducted this investigation and did so quietly, securely and without hesitation. Hanssen, a 56-year-old counterintelligence specialist, was in the process of giving information to his Russian contacts in exchange for $50,000 in cash, FBI Director Louis Freeh said today. They had two children together and were respected members of the community. Robert Hanssen (left), a 25-year career FBI man, pleaded guilty to, among other charges, 13 counts of espionage for Russia. He looked the quintessential suburban dad, devoted to his wife and six kids, working a government job to. In 1985 he approached the Soviets again and offered valuable secrets. What we wanted to do was get enough evidence to convict him, and the ultimate aim was to catch him in the act, said Debra Evans Smith, a former deputy assistant director of the Counterintelligence Division. As difficult as this moment is for the FBI and for the country, I am immensely proud of the men and women who conducted this investigation. . In fact, he had already betrayed one of the United States' most important agents: Gen. Dmitri Polyakov of the G.R.U. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. The bureau had not asked her to take a polygraph test after her husband's arrest in February 2001. Hanssen checked the sign three times that night. It wasnt money, thats for sure, she said, noting that the family lived in a modest home with three mortgages and drove older-model cars as they scrimped to send their children to private Catholic schools. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Gray Day: My Undercover Mission to Expose Americas First Cyber Spy, My boss records all the conversations in our office, China's secret police are actively hunting people on US soil, Cuomo mocks Biden over China spy balloon debacle, Biden, DOJ scrapping FBI China initiative led to more spying: security experts. Meanwhile, the FBI had discovered medical tape and chalk Hanssens tools for signaling the Russians in the car, along with classified documents that had no business being there. Opus Dei and Hanssen: Masters of Paradox . Hes also a sign of Mexicos healthcare crisis, Black residents of Jackson, Miss., blast plans by white-dominated Legislature for more state control, Spain approves menstrual leave, teen abortion and trans laws. (They took Hanssens Ford and the plan to search his car was dropped for the time being.). On Feb. 18, 2001, Hanssen left a package presumably full of classified documents wrapped in trash bags underneath a bridge in Foxstone Park, then placed a piece of tape at a nearby location, indicating the drop had been made. They drove to New Rochelle to meet with the Rev. He also independently disclosed the identity of two KGB officials who, first compromised by Aldrich Ames, had been recruited by the U.S. Government to serve as agents in place at the Soviet Embassy in Washington. 42-67.) As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. In one letter to his Russian handlers, Hanssen complains about lost opportunities to alert them that the FBI had discovered the microphone hidden at the State Department, known then by the FBI but apparently not by Hanssen as being monitored by a Russian intelligence officer. An FBI arrest team moved into position at Foxstone Park, a location where Hanssen had been spotted before by FBI surveillance. 1979 - Begins spying for the Soviet Union. Hanssen was finally discovered when a former KGB agent contacted American intelligence agents. She said she had none, and the polygraph showed no indication of deception, Ms. Brookner said. Press Release - Veteran FBI Agent Arrested and Charged with Espionage, FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. Expert interviews recount Hanssen's life, how he stayed hidden for over 20 years, and the events leading to his arrest. Gallagher also told Hanssen that then-Director Louis Freeh had approved a two-year extension on his service and a promotion to the Senior Executive Service. ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- Apologizing before a U.S. federal judge, former FBI agent Robert Hanssen was sentenced Friday to . McNamara, Robert. Robert hanssen: the fox guarding the henhouse. It said Bokhan's son, Alex, 18, was having trouble in military school and suggested the deputy take his vacation now, three months early, and return to the Soviet Union to deal with him. On May 10, 2002, Robert Philip Hanssen was sentenced to life in prison without parole. As they outranked him, he didnt have much of a choice. She next asked ONeill to retrieve Hanssens keys so the FBI could copy them, but his boss kept his keys on him at all times. The criminal conduct alleged represents the most traitorous actions imaginable against a country governed by the Rule of Law. But while the FBI could have arrested Hanssen on the spot, they would have had him only on a conspiracy charge. The Robert Hanssen Story" was released in 2002. She sold their house and bakery in Alaska and shifted closer to her family in Arkansas after the children were getting bullied massively at their school. His father, Howard, had reportedly belittled, bullied, and berated the boy from childhood to his college years at Knox College, 200 miles away from his home in Chicago. As a devout Catholic, Bonnie Hanssen feels that he needs time [in prison] to pray for forgiveness and be redeemed in some way, the wifes attorney, Janine Brookner, said in an interview. For these reasons, the FBI learned of his true identity before the Russians; they are learning of it only now. Judge Webster is uniquely qualified as a former FBI Director, CIA Director and Director of Central Intelligence to undertake this review. Thanks for contacting us. Yet some investigators believed anger about how his father treated him as a child triggered a need to rebel against authority. He wears a revolver in an ankle holster and keeps an automatic [weapon] in his desk., In response, Alleman took a sip of her coffee to hide her smile., Fine, ONeill said. Robert Hanssen, FBI Agent Who Became a Soviet Mole. A TV movie called Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story was released in 2002. Today, Mrs. Hanssen is teaching at a Catholic school in suburban Virginia and is living in the house she shared with her husband and their six children. For a time he planned to become a dentist, but eventually wound up obtaining an MBA and becoming an accountant. The crimes alleged are an affront not only to his fellow FBI employees but to the American people, not to mention the pain and suffering he has brought upon his family. In return, he received large sums of money and other remuneration. In 1976, Robert Hanssen began his career as an FBI agent, but by 1985, he was working for the former Soviet Union, slipping the Russians classified secrets in exchange for more than $1.4 million . With two children already out of school, the pension money will help Bonnie Hanssen support two children who are in college and two more still in high school, Brookner said. The evidence against him was overwhelming, and to avoid the death penalty, Hanssen confessed and agreed to be debriefed by American intelligence officials. But in 1999, while assigned as an FBI liaison with the State Department, he once again began selling American secrets. Fourth, there is the case of Robert Philip Hanssen, a top-level FBI agent responsible for counterintelligence in the US, who spied for the Russians from 1979 until his arrest in February 2001. The complaint alleges that Hanssen, using the code name Ramon, engaged in espionage by providing highly classified information to the KGB and its successor agency, the SVR, using encrypted communications, dead drops, and other clandestine techniques. For more information:- Press Release - Veteran FBI Agent Arrested and Charged with Espionage- Affidavit- Statement ofFBI Director Louis J. Freeh on the Arrestof FBI Special Agent Robert Philip Hanssen (see below), Statement of FBI Director Louis J. Freeh On the Arrestof FBI Special Agent Robert Philip Hanssen, For Immediate ReleaseFebruary 20, 2001Washington D.C.FBI National Press Office. '', ''I have very supportive friends, who have been tremendous,'' Mrs. Hanssen said. Lesley Stahl has learned that Robert Hanssen, the FBI agent who betrayed his country, also betrayed his church and his wife. Hanssen, a disgruntled senior FBI computer geek who spied intermittently for the Russians from 1979 until his arrest following a dead drop in the snowy woods of Virginia in 2001, produced. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. The Robert Hanssen Story" was released in 2002. Most of all, he betrayed himself. Did you encounter any technical issues? In his communications with the Russians (some of which were eventually made public after his arrest) he insisted on setting the terms of how he would communicate, pass information, and pick up money. The Hanssens are active members of Opus Dei, a conservative Catholic group. Hanssen reportedly lavished cash and gifts on a Washington stripper whom he befriended. General Polyakov had been spying for the United States since the early 1960's, but soon after Mr. Hanssen told the Russians of this, General Polyakov was forced to retire and was later executed. He was sentenced to life in prison. Bokhan. He and his wife relocated to Anchorage, Alaska in 1967. She told Sergeant Flothe (the man who played a pivotal role in Hansens capture) that their income streams were separate and that Hansen would spend the money from the bakery on his own needs. As alleged, he did so using a variety of sophisticated means of communication, encryption, and dead drops. Instead, he ultimately became the most damaging spy in Bureau history. ONeills next assignment would put him right into the lions den. The premise of The Frozen Ground is that a state trooper, played by Nicolas Cage, teams up with a surviving victim of a serial killerto bring him down. Intelligence officials began debriefing Hanssen this week, defense attorney Preston Burton said Thursday. ', Before I could blink, [Hanssen] had the lapels of my sport coat twisted in his fists and curled me up to eye level, leaving my toes tipping for balance on the floor. But from the vantage of the media, "happens to be" applies only to Pollard: Hanssen is fast-becoming known as "the Catholic spy.". He pleaded guilty to 13 counts of espionage plus two related counts and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. She did not want her husband to be tempted to work for the Russians again, she told the Justice Department. Under the plea agreement, Hanssen is obligated to return the $1.4 million in spying proceeds to the government, but Brookner said she doubts that will ever happen. He could sit in his office and shut the door. The couple, however, did not have a great relationship. According to . Hanssens espionage activities began in 1985. "She and the children clearly are innocent victims." Advertisement Robert Hanssen, 57, a former FBI counterintelligence agent, pleaded guilty last week to 15 counts of spying for Moscow. Hanssen, 56, was an FBI agent for 25 . Without the current unprecedented level of trust and cooperation between the CIA and FBI, making this case would not have been possible. Hanssen subsequently was assigned to a variety of national security posts that legitimately provided him access to classified information relating to the former Soviet Union and Russia. ''I just wish somebody would say that my husband never told me he was spying,'' Mrs. Hanssen said in frustration in a telephone interview this week. He married Bernadette Wauck in 1968 and, influenced by his devout Catholic wife, he converted to Catholicism. The Robert Hanssen Story" was released in 2002. Instead, the 57-year-old defendant will be sentenced to life in prison without parole if he honors his pledge to tell the government all the secrets behind his two-decade career as a Russian spy. Apparently, even though Hansen was naturally a left-handed person, he was always forced to use his right hand, making his speech problems worse. Mrs. Hanssen acknowledged in the interview that in about 1980, she discovered that her husband was having unauthorized dealings with the Russians, but said she never knew the extent of his actions. We believe it was exceptionally grave. A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. ThoughtCo. Another government official confirmed that Mrs. Hanssen was given a polygraph test and said she had passed it. His assistant, Eric ONeill, was tasked with keeping investigators apprised of Hanssens movements. Now 74, he is serving time at ADX Florence, the federal supermax prison in Colorado. robert hanssen childrenjennifer nicholson mark norfleet 27 februari, 2023 . The investigation of Hanssen was conducted by the FBI in partnership with the CIA, the Department of State, and, of course, the Justice Department. 1999 - Resumes spying, this time for the Russian Intelligence agency. Hanssen, in full blowhard mode, got back in the car and the two took the slow route as he lectured ONeill. The past few weeks have uncovered many allegations of FBI agent Robert Hanssen's betrayals: unmasking U.S. agents working in Russia and exposing a multimillion dollar American . The level of support and expertise from Acting Deputy Attorney General Robert Mueller, Counsel for Intelligence Policy Frances Fragos Townsend, U.S. Attorney Helen Fahey and Assistant United States Attorney Randy Bellows is superb. As a result of these assignments within the FBI, Hanssen gained access to some of the most sensitive and highly classified information in the United States Government. ONeill, 46, left the FBI in May 2001. At the time, he was assigned to counterintelligence in the F.B.I. The following year, he married Darla Henrichson, with whom he went on to have two children. 's investigation of Mr. Hanssen, the former F.B.I. Hanssen was tracked from the time he left his house in Fairfax County, Virginia, to the time he got home at night, and it was confirmed that he was still an active spy. The Spy Who Loved Spying A good spy needs a good cover, and Hanssen had one of the best. ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/robert-hanssen-4587832. Judge Webster and anyone he selects to assist him will have complete access and whatever resources are necessary to complete this task. 27 year veteran of the G.R.U a two-year extension on his service a! 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