He wrote to them anonymously. 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. [7][8] He was sentenced to 15 life terms without the possibility of parole. The plea bargain spared Hanssen the death penalty. The full extent of the damage done is yet unknown because no accurate damage assessment could be conducted without jeopardizing the investigation. For unknown reasons[dubious discuss], the Soviets did not act against Polyakov until he was betrayed a second time by CIA mole Aldrich Ames in 1985. The money Hansen generated from his bakery went elsewhere. He is serving his sentence at the ADX Florence, a federal supermax prison near Florence, Colorado, in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. In 1978, he and his growing family of three children (and eventually six) relocated to New York City when the FBI transferred him to its field office there. 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. Robert Hanssen was born in Chicago, Illinois, to a Lutheran family who lived in the Norwood Park neighborhood. Hanssen would later claim that his goal was simply to make some extra money, as living in New York City was putting a financial squeeze on his growing family. He enrolled in dental school at Northwestern University[11] but switched his focus to business after three years. A reader replied to the blog, claiming to have been roommates with Hansen's daughter in the early 1990s, but this has yet to be substantiated. [9] He is of Norwegian descent. He placed a white piece of tape on a park sign, which was a signal to his Russian contacts that there was information at the dead drop site. 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. Hanssen gave them the name of a Russian general, Dimitri Polyakov, who had been providing information to the Americans. The prolonged abuse that he endured not only made his childhood challenging, but also chased him throughout his life. appreciated. Hanssen allegedly began spying for the Soviets in 1985 when, in his first letter to the KGB, he volunteered information that compromised several sensitive techniques. The Soviets, suspicious of being lured into a trap, demanded to meet him. Hansen opened a bakery and learned how to fly the small plane that he purchased. May 10, 2002 - Is sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. Robert was born in 1939 in Iowa to Danish immigrants Christian and Edna Hansen. 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. [27][28] When the Soviets began construction on a new embassy during 1977, the FBI dug a tunnel beneath their decoding room. The FBI also obtains the complete original KGB dossier on Hanssen. He became known in the FBI as an expert on computers.[19]. Hanssen parked on a residential street and walked down a wooded path to a footbridge with the classified materials wrapped in a plastic bag. "I have opened the door for calumny against my totally innocent wife and children. Agents find a bag nearby containing $50,000 that they believe is Hanssens payment for the documents. As Hanssen walked back to his car, the arrest team rushed up and took him into custody. Interestingly, Hansen got married twice. [45] FBI analyst Bob King remembered Hanssen using that same quote. They paid $7 million to KGB agent Alexandr Shcherbakov[43] who had access to a file on "B". After graduating from a public high school, Hanssen attended Knox College in Illinois, studying chemistry and Russian. [72], Hanssen was the subject of a 2002 made-for-television movie, Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story, with the teleplay by Norman Mailer and starring William Hurt as Hanssen. A turning point came in 2000, when the FBI and CIA were able to secure original Russian documentation of an American spy who appeared to be Hanssen. Hanssen's jailers allowed him to watch this movie, but he was so angered by it that he turned it off. [16] CIA and FBI officials, including Deputy Director William Sullivan, believed that, at some point, Polyakov was made into a triple agent by the Soviets, who thereby deceived the West with misinformation. He passed on data related to surveillance activities of FBI and provided the GRU with data of suspected Soviet intelligence spies. He continued with his counter-intelligence work after being shifted to the New York field office in 1985. Press Release - Veteran FBI Agent Arrested and Charged with Espionage, FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. I am shamed by it," Hanssen told U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton. Both Ames and Hanssen compromised the names of KGB agents working secretly for the U.S., some of whom were executed for their betrayal. Children: Lisa, Greg, Mark, John "Jack," Sue and Jane Education: Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, A.B. [15] During his first espionage cycle, Hanssen provided a significant amount of information to the GRU, including details of the FBI's bugging activities and lists of suspected Soviet intelligence agents. Hanssen restarted communications the next year and continued until his arrest. Apparently, even though Hansen was naturally a left-handed person, he was always forced to use his right hand, making his speech problems worse. Robert Hanssen's business cards, chalk and thumb tacks, which he used to communicate with his Russian contacts, according to the FBI. He was Amazon.com's first-ever history editor and has bylines in New York, the Chicago Tribune, and other national outlets. During his sessions with investigators, Hanssen claimed his motivation had always been financial. Is sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. Because of these coordinated efforts, the FBI was able to secure original Russian documentation of an American spy who appeared to the FBI to be Hanssen a premise that was soon to be confirmed when Hanssen was identified by the FBI as having clandestinely communicated with Russian intelligence officers. 2000 - The FBI identifies Hanssen from a fingerprint and from a tape recording supplied by a disgruntled Russian intelligence operative. An FBI Agent who raised his right hand and spoke those words over 25 years ago has been charged today with violating that oath in the most egregious and reprehensible manner imaginable. In 1999 he established contact with the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR, which was preceded by the KGB before Soviets collapse. Hanssenusing the alias Ramon Garcia with his Russian handlershad provided highly classified national security information to the Russians in exchange for more than $1.4 million in cash, bank funds, and diamonds. Much of what these men and women did remains undisclosed but their success and that of their CIA counterparts represents unparalleled expertise and dedication to both principle and mission. The FBI's codename for the suspected spy was "Graysuit". In 1979, three years after joining the FBI, Hanssen approached the Soviet Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) to offer his services, beginning his first espionage cycle, lasting until 1981. 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. Six was to be added to the month, day, and time of a designated drop time, so that, for example, a drop scheduled for January 6 at 1:00p.m. would be written as July 12 at 7:00p.m..[61], Despite these efforts at caution and security, Hanssen could sometimes be reckless. Martynov and Motorin were condemned to death and executed via a gunshot to the back of the head. His active and long stint as a Soviet spy began on October 1, 1985, when he sent an unsigned letter to KGB, where he mentioned the names of at least three agents of KGB who were covertly serving FBI. It belongs to his wife . Hanssen, a former counterintelligence supervisor for the FBI, pleaded guilty last week to 15 espionage-related charges and admitted that he had sold the Russians thousands of pages of national security secrets in exchange for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds. NSD chief Johnnie Sullivan ordered the computer impounded after it seemed to have been tampered with. The complaint alleges that he received over $600,000. But in 1999, while assigned as an FBI liaison with the State Department, he once again began selling American secrets. For instance, a piece of adhesive tape placed on a sign in a park in Virginia would indicate that a package had been placed in a "dead drop" location, which was usually under a small footbridge in the park. 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. May 9, 2002 4:00am. In 1967, the couple moved to Anchorage, Alaska, and had two children. Through Attorney General John Ashcroft, I would like to thank the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Hanssen then began to videotape his sexual encounters secretly and shared the videotapes with Hoschouer. However, even though Hansen would go to church with his wife, nothing really changed. She would then use this money to run her house and support her children. [6] To avoid the death penalty, Hanssen pleaded guilty to 14 counts of espionage and one of conspiracy to commit espionage. He was born on April 18, 1944, in Chicago, Illinois, to Howard and Vivian Hanssen. Robert Phillip Hanssen was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 18, 1944. Hansen was first married in his native Iowa when he was in his early 20s (via The Cinemaholic). In return, he received large sums of money and other remuneration. 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. The first time around, his wife divorced him after a mere half-year because of his incarceration for arson in Iowa. On August 10, 1968, he married Bernadette "Bonnie" Wauck, a dedicated catholic. Instead, he ultimately became the most damaging spy in. [4][31], When the USSR disbanded in December 1991, Hanssen, possibly worried that he could be exposed during the ensuing political upheaval, ended communications with his handlers for a time. Hanssen became alarmed that a Russian with knowledge of his activities would tip off the Americans that a highly placed mole was operating within the FBI and the resultant investigation would lead to him. McNamara, Robert. Each time, I share the pride and sanctity of those words when new agents swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same.. Its difficult, but its better than seeing him put to death.. We particularly appreciate the unhesitating leadership and support of Attorney General Ashcroft from the moment he took office. During his second round of dealing with Russian agents, Hanssen was much more cautious. Robert Philip Hanssen is an American former Federal Bureau of Investigation double agent who spied for Soviet and Russian intelligence services against the United States from 1979 to 2001. 2023 Cable News Network. "Robert Hanssen, FBI Agent Who Became a Soviet Mole." Polyakov was carefully watched by the Russians from that point on, and was eventually arrested as a spy and executed in 1988. She left her children, Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric well taken care of, but she didn't leave . 2:02 PM EDT, Thu April 14, 2022, FBI Agent Robert Philip Hanssen is shown in this undated file photo, released by the FBI February 20, 2001. All denied everything. In 1980, after his first interactions with the Soviets, Hanssen told his wife what he had done, and she suggested they meet with a Catholic priest. The Hanssen case was regarded as a low point for the FBI, especially as Hanssen had been so trusted and had committed such betrayals for so many years. [12] Hanssen received an MBA in accounting and information systems in 1971 and took a job with an accounting firm. She would use her money to run the household and support the couple's children, while Hansen would spend the money he made at the bakery on "his own needs," according to what she would later tell Sergeant Flothe, who played a pivotal role in his capture. 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. In short, the trusted insider betrayed his trust without detection. At least two movies have been made about Hanssen. in Chemistry, 1966; Attended Northwestern University Dental School, 1966-1968; Northwestern University, M.B.A. in Accounting and Information Systems, 1971. 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. He had opportunity. [63], According to USA Today, those who knew the Hanssens described them as a close family. It would seem as though Hansen's children want their privacy respected, and who could blame them? His job was to help assemble a database of foreign officials posted in New York who, while posing as diplomats, were actually intelligence officers spying on the United States. ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/robert-hanssen-4587832. [5] His mother was Edna Margret Petersen. [26], Later that year, Hanssen gave extensive information about American planning for measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT), a general term for intelligence collected by a variety of electronic means, such as radar, spy satellites, and signal intercepts. The FBI entrusted him with some of the most sensitive secrets of the United States Government and instead of being humbled by this honor, Hanssen has allegedly abused and betrayed that trust. 1972 - Joins the Chicago Police Department. Though the government alleges that Robert Hanssen, 56,. Christian owned a bakery and would make his son work for long hours as a kid. They attended Mass weekly and were very active in Opus Dei. 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. Brian Blomquist. Hansen was convicted of just four of the murders in a deal that spared him . The information he is alleged to have provided compromised numerous human sources, technical operations, counterintelligence techniques, sources and methods, and investigations, including the Felix Bloch investigation. Hanssen was finally discovered when a former KGB agent contacted American intelligence agents. Darla earned a living for the household as well, teaching children with disabilities. Polyakov was carefully watched by the Russians from that point on, and was eventually arrested as a spy and executed in 1988. In 1978, Hanssen was transferred to the FBI office in New York City and was assigned to a counterintelligence post. His wife was a teacher of theology at Oakcrest. [4][10] He graduated from William Howard Taft High School in 1962 and then attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, where he earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1966. He worked as a policeman in Chicago for three years and was placed on an elite unit that investigated corruption. Yet some investigators believed anger about how his father treated him as a child triggered a need to rebel against authority. [52], However, Hanssen's suspicions did not stop him from making one more dead drop. The damage Hanssen did was considerable. Authorities said they are convinced that Bonnie Hanssen--unlike the wives of several other notorious U.S. spies who helped their husbands--was not involved in Hanssens spying. He urged fellow Catholics in the FBI to attend Mass more often and denounced the Russians as "godless", even though he had been spying for them. After confirmation by the FBI CART Unit, Sullivan filed a report with the Office of Professional Responsibility requesting the further investigation of Hanssen's attempted hack. Discovery Company. He compromised information about Americas plan of forming Measurement and Signature Intelligence, its bugging plan over the Soviets by digging a tunnel under the decoding room of the Soviets new embassy and data on double agents of the US. As alleged in the complaint, computer forensic analysis, substantial covert surveillance, court authorized searches and other sensitive techniques revealed that Hanssen has routinely accessed FBI records and clandestinely provided those records and other classified information to Russian intelligence officers. , . 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