's New York field office. May 10, 2002 Posted: 11:59 AM EDT (1559 GMT) Former FBI agent Robert Hanssen. He worked as a policeman in Chicago for three years and was placed on an elite unit that investigated corruption. Twenty years ago today, Hanssen was arrested on February 18, 2001 when he was . Powered by WordPress.com VIP. He later wrote to his KGB handler, speaking about the severity with which U.S. laws punishes his alleged actions, and acknowledging I know far better than most what minefields are laid and the risks.. The Department of Justice described his espionage as one of the worst in United States History. He pleaded guilty to 13 counts of espionage plus two related counts and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. The investigation of Hanssen was conducted by the FBI in partnership with the CIA, the Department of State, and, of course, the Justice Department. Since becoming Director over seven years ago, I have administered the FBI oath to each graduating class of Special Agents at the FBI Academy. A feature film called "Breach" was released in 2007. She said her husband told her he had received about $30,000 from the Soviets -- more than has previously been disclosed -- but he had spent much of it. Guilty plea would mean life term, money for family By Naftali Bendavid . She supports the plea agreement and agrees that the sentence of life in prison without parole, rather than the death penalty, is appropriate in these circumstances.. Sun, Feb 12, 2023. . I have hurt so many deeply." Hanssen, who began working with Soviet military intelligence in 1979, was. His most notorious attack was when he planted three pipe bombs filled with nails in the main square of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, killing 44-year-old Alice Hawthorne, causing a fatal heart attack for 40-year-old Melih Uzunyol, and injuring over a hundred others. ONeill quickly replaced the items and ran out of the office. In fact, when his father passed away, Hansen inherited 17 guns from him as well. Suit David Huband Photographer Catherine Burdon Agent Nece Robert Philip Hanssen had drifted through several false starts in life before he settled in at the FBI. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. In her statement, Bonnie Hanssen thanked government officials for allowing her to retain the pension and for recognizing that she and the children clearly are innocent victims.. Today's protagonist, Robert Hanssen, was an FBI agent who served his country for 20 years. Agents find a bag nearby containing $50,000 that they believe is Hanssens payment for the documents. The Justice Department's inspector general has been examining the F.B.I. After work each day, ONeill would secretly meet with his actual boss, Special Agent Kate Alleman, recalling everything Hanssen said and did which, as it turned out, would be nothing pleasant. "Robert Hanssen, FBI Agent Who Became a Soviet Mole." A feature film called "Breach" was released in 2007. The plea bargain spared Hanssen the death penalty. They had two children together and were respected members of the community. Finally, he warned: The US can be errantly likened to a powerfully built but retarded child, potentially dangerous, but young, immature and easily manipulated. 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. Sullivan noted that Hanssen spent a lot of time trolling ACS for information. 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. His Father, Howard Hanssen, was an officer with the Chicago police department and his mother, Vivian Hanssen, was a . Hanssen had freely expressed his views on marriage before, once telling ONeill: Your genetic code demands that you make money and provide for the family. In the face of worldwide publicity about one of the most damaging espionage breaches in U.S. history, Bonnie Hanssen, 54, has maintained a steadfast silence since her husband of nearly 30 years was arrested in February near their home in suburban Washington. Senior FBI officials described him as . She would then use this money to run her house and support her children. The ensuing investigation confirmed this suspicion. Hanssens espionage activities began in 1985. I intend to act swiftly on his recommendations. News reports at the time of his sentencing said American intelligence agencies were not entirely satisfied with the extent of his cooperation and believed he was holding back information. He had opportunity. He wanted to interview Hanssen for the book but was refused. 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. Hansen even notched up a few local hunting records. Id say insanely loyal, Hanssen wrote. Read more Print length 352 pages Nor would many other intelligence and counterintelligence accomplishments that routinely but quietly contribute to the security of this Nation. By the time Hanssen and ONeill returned to the office, things seemed normal. Children: Lisa, Greg, Mark, John "Jack," Sue and Jane. As they took him into custody, Hanssen turned to one and said, What took you so long?. Hanssen parked on a residential street and walked down a wooded path to a footbridge with the classified materials wrapped in a plastic bag. 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. The arrest of Robert Hanssen by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on charges of counterespionage represents a major crisis for the US intelligence apparatus. Spy's Wife Speaks, After Taking a Lie Test, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/16/us/spy-s-wife-speaks-after-taking-a-lie-test.html. The complaint, however, does not allege any compromises by him at the State Department. 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. 1981 - Hanssens wife catches him with classified documents and convinces him to stop spying. The bureau had not asked her to take a polygraph test after her husband's arrest in February 2001. But in her polygraph test, Mrs. Hanssen denied finding any large and unexplained amounts of money in her home, and the polygraph showed that she was not being deceptive, her lawyer said. Two were executed. ONeill now feared he may have pushed Hanssen over the line from suspicion to paranoia. So he leaned back, forcing Hanssen off balance a bit, and apologized for his outburst claiming he just wanted to make sure they roll into the DIA in style, in that big black FBI SUV., This seemed to pacify his boss. Sometime in the mid-1960s, Robert Hansen got married for the second time. "I have opened the door for calumny against my totally innocent wife and children. He will report directly to the Attorney General and me and we will share his report with the National Security Council and Congress. In it he betrayed three Soviet officers who were working for the Central Intelligence Agency and the bureau. 02 victoria warehouse manchester. Many of them were agents of the Soviet intelligence agency, the KGB, or its military counterpart, the GRU. He was enrolled in a "children's club" overseen by the organization when he was seven years old, and it wasn't his first experience with Opus Dei. Darla was an extremely religious woman, and she felt that faith could be his way out. Father Bucciarelli came up with a plan to save Mr. Hanssen from prison, Mrs. Hanssen told investigators during the polygraph test, her lawyer said. One reason for her frustration may be that some government officials were apparently not convinced of her story. Here was ONeills opportunity to push Hanssen to his limits. Were you in my office? Hanssen leaned over my desk, his face inches from mine. For decades, the quirky but respected counterintelligence expert, religious family man, and father of six, sold top secret information to agents of the Soviet Union and Russia. Robert Philip Hanssen, a 27 year veteran of the FBI, was a double agent. Full Name: Robert Phillip Hanssen Known For: Worked as a mole for Russian spy agencies while serving as an FBI counterintelligence agent. I would like to ask him why he did it, ONeill told The Post. All three were arrested; two were executed. In 1985 he approached the Soviets again and offered valuable secrets. After his first wife left him, Hansen was released from prison in late 1962. February 18, 2001 - Is arrested in a Virginia park after making a drop of classified documents. Since he held key counterintelligence positions, he had authorized access to classified information. I scooped the devices into my arms and sprinted for the stairway, writes ONeill, who refers to this as his one true James Bond moment. In hindsight, serial killers often have traits in common and show signs of their adult inclinations as children. 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. This would be the first of many heart-stopping requests from Alleman. A feature film called "Breach" was released in 2007. This story has been shared 123,032 times. He and his wife relocated to Anchorage, Alaska in 1967. Assistant Eric O'Neill (right) tells in his new book how he helped. Chicago Tribune July 4, 2001. . When the news media reported that alleged spy Robert Hanssen was a member of Opus Dei back in 2001, many wondered how Hanssen could provide sensitive information to communists, when Opus Dei has always seemed to be so vehemently opposed to communism. Hanssen lived in suburban Virginia, was married, and had six children; he was a devout Catholic who went to Mass every week, sometimes every day. 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. On this day in history (February 18), one of the most famous and damaging insiders within the FBI, Robert Philip Hanssen was arrested. But Mr. Hanssen was not tricking the Russians; he was a Russian spy and had been working for the G.R.U., Soviet military intelligence, since 1979. As they outranked him, he didnt have much of a choice. But dont be fooled by that appearance. "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. Opus Dei and Hanssen: Masters of Paradox . I slammed the door behind me and slid to a halt in Hanssens office.. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. Under Mr. Hanssen's plea bargain, she will receive the survivor's part of his bureau pension, as well as the right to keep the home. Robert Hanssen (left), a 25-year career FBI man, pleaded guilty to, among other charges, 13 counts of espionage for Russia. Authorities say Hanssen was driven by greed, but Brookner rejected that assertion. Or, rather, one person does. The investigation that led to these charges is the direct result of the longstanding FBI/CIA efforts, ongoing since the Aldrich Ames case, to identify additional foreign penetrations of the United States Intelligence Community. FBI and CIA personnel who debriefed Hanssen about his 21 years as a spy for Moscow found him a prickly, uncooperative character and won't be sorry to see him pulling hard time in a distant lock-up. If he gave the money from the Soviets to charity, and promised not to spy again, he would have the priest's blessing not to report the matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In the 15 months since her husband's arrest as a Russian spy, Bonnie Hanssen has struggled to maintain her public silence in the face of a torrent of disclosures about her life with a man she thought she knew. 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. Robert P. Bucciarelli, a priest affiliated with Opus Dei, a conservative Catholic organization the Hanssens had joined several years earlier. The first time around, his wife divorced him after a mere half-year because of his incarceration for arson in Iowa. Special Agent Don Sullivan, a squad supervisor at the FBIs Washington Field Office at the time, volunteered to replace Hanssen. He spied for the Soviets . Darla, who had a masters degree in Education, would earn her own income by teaching learning disabled kids. He betrayed his country. Even without knowing who he was or where he worked, Hanssens value to the Russians was clear both by the substantial sums of money paid and the prestigious awards given to their own agents for Hanssens operation. Alleman tasked him with purloining Hanssens PalmPilot. 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. He betrayed his God. I told him I thought it was insane.''. 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. In October 1985, he volunteered to spy for the K.G.B., the Soviet intelligence agency, by sending an anonymous letter to a K.G.B. Spy tells, for the first time, the full, authoritative story of how FBI agent Robert Hanssen, code name grayday, spied for Russia for twenty-two years in what has been called the "worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history"-and how he was finally caught in an incredible gambit by U.S. The FBI also obtains the complete original KGB dossier on Hanssen. He was Amazon.com's first-ever history editor and has bylines in New York, the Chicago Tribune, and other national outlets. Anything different goes against biology.. He married Bernadette Wauck in 1968 and, influenced by his devout Catholic wife, he converted to Catholicism. Sunday night the FBI arrested Robert Philip Hanssen who has been charged with committing espionage. Their actions represent counterintelligence at its very best and under the most difficult and sensitive of circumstances. 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. ''I never knew about anything else after that first time,'' Mrs. Hanssen said in the interview. ONeill needed to stall, but without arousing further suspicion. The couple, however, did not have a great relationship. Couldnt this have waited till Monday? he asked. Moron! 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. Accused FBI spy Hanssen cuts deal. She did not want her husband to be tempted to work for the Russians again, she told the Justice Department. Lesley Stahl has learned that Robert Hanssen, the FBI agent who betrayed his country, also betrayed his church and his wife. His troubles with the law continued in Anchorage as well. On the drive back, ONeill tried to play it cool even though he was riddled with fear that Hanssens car would not be at the office when they returned. Our hearts go out to them. FBI leadership decided Hanssen needed to be removed from his temporary position and brought back to FBI Headquarters. To get Hanssen back to FBI Headquarters where he could be closely monitored, Neil Gallagher, assistant director of the National Security Division at the time, called Hanssen to inform him of a bogus assignment to serve on his staff as a special assistant for a technology project. I dont think there was anybody more shocked by all this, Brookner said. For a time he planned to become a dentist, but eventually wound up obtaining an MBA and becoming an accountant. The news that he used to literally hunt women and kill them after sexually assaulting them sent shockwaves through the state of Alaska, and on occasion, even beyond its borders. 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. He turned off the highway onto a side street, trying to persuade Hanssen that it was faster even though, as he writes, anyone who has lived in the DC area for two weeks could call bullst.. He could sit in his office and shut the door. For years, Hanssen stopped contacting the Russians. 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. He began to make small payments over several years to a charity affiliated with Mother Teresa's Catholic organization, moving the family close to bankruptcy, Mrs. Hanssen told the Justice Department investigators. Mrs. Hanssen said she demanded that he repay the $30,000. June 16, 2001 -- Accused FBI spy Robert Hanssen told his wife about his activities as early as 1980, well before prosecutors claim he started passing secrets to Moscow. headquarters in a senior counterintelligence post, he told his wife that he had paid off the debt, she told the Justice Department. 91 Followers. He lobbied his Russian masters to buy him a newer PalmPilot, with wireless Internet capabilities, which would allow the rapid transmission of encrypted messages. His growing family would need space, and Hanssen's vision of himself required that he provide for them while Bonnie managed the home and raised their children. Caught off guard, he grabbed his guns but not his PalmPilot. Who were Robert Hansen's wives and children? Therefore, after he was given a 461-year sentence for his crimes, she chose to divorce him. 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. https://www.thoughtco.com/robert-hanssen-4587832 (accessed March 1, 2023). 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. For these reasons, the FBI learned of his true identity before the Russians; they are learning of it only now. ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- Apologizing before a U.S. federal judge, former FBI agent Robert Hanssen was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole for spying for the Soviet Union and. McNamara, Robert. 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. But in 1999, while assigned as an FBI liaison with the State Department, he once again began selling American secrets. 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. He often steered conversations to talk of religion and his very conservative values, which were aligned with the very conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei. Timeline. But Thursday, Bonnie Hanssen issued a statement through her attorney revealing the torment that the case has caused. 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. Once he got caught, the only thing he cared about was trying to provide for his wife and his children, who visit him regularly in prison, Brookner said. She said she had none, and the polygraph showed no indication of deception, Ms. Brookner said. 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 . Time, volunteered to replace Hanssen Chicago for three years and was sentenced to life without the possibility of.. Guard, he converted to Catholicism at the State Department, he again. Called & quot ; Breach & quot ; Sue and Jane converted Catholicism. 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