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. His wife was a teacher of theology at Oakcrest. 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. As Hanssen walked back to his car, the arrest team rushed up and took him into custody. To the residents of the quiet suburb of Vienna, Virginia, Robert Hanssen was the perfect neighbor. He passed on data related to surveillance activities of FBI and provided the GRU with data of suspected Soviet intelligence spies. Hanssen met Bernadette "Bonnie" Wauck, a staunch Roman Catholic, while attending dental school at Northwestern. They created a list of all agents known to have access to cases that were compromised. Hanssens espionage activities began in 1985. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. [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. [4][42], FBI investigators later made progress during an operation where they paid disaffected Russian intelligence officers to deliver information on moles. Wanting to get a fresh start, the newlywed couple migrated to Alaska in 1967 (per the New YorkDaily News). Robert was born in 1939 in Iowa to Danish immigrants Christian and Edna Hansen. He had opportunity. Robert J. McNamara is a history expert and former magazine journalist. [6] Hanssen ensured that he did not reveal himself with his study, but in addition, he gave the entire studyincluding the list of all Soviets who had contacted the FBI about FBI molesto the KGB in 1988. Mislock has since theorized that Hanssen probably went onto his computer to see if his superiors were investigating him for espionage and invented the document story to cover his tracks. Hanssen's children returned to school within days of his arrest, family and friends said, to maintain their routines. Hansen would frequent the strip clubs in the area. He worked as a policeman in Chicago for three years and was placed on an elite unit that investigated corruption. [17][18], In 1981, Hanssen was transferred to FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., and he relocated to the suburb of Vienna, Virginia. [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. In early February 2001, he asked his friend at a computer technology company for a job. The information he delivered compromised numerous human sources, counterintelligence techniques, investigations, dozens of classified U.S. government documents, and technical operations of extraordinary importance and value. [44] FBI agent Michael Waguespack thought the voice was familiar, but could not remember who it was. [60] He refused to use the dead drop sites that his handler, Victor Cherkashin, suggested and instead chose his own. The couple went on to have two children. Agents find a bag nearby containing $50,000 that they believe is Hanssens payment for the documents. Undated file photo released by the FBI February 20, 2001 shows a package recovered at the 'Lewis' drop site containing $50,000 cash allegedly left by Russians for FBI Agent Robert Philip Hanssen. O'Neill ascertained that Hanssen was using a Palm III PDA to store his information. The FBI could not produce any good evidence, and as a result, Bloch was never charged with a crime, although the State Department later terminated his employment and denied his pension. This included all the FBI activities related to wiretapping and electronic surveillance, which were Hanssen's responsibility. The FBI paid $7 million to a KGB agent to obtain a file on an anonymous mole, whom the FBI later identified as Hanssen through fingerprint and voice analysis. [49][50][51], During his final days with the FBI, Hanssen began to suspect something was wrong. He worked as an Investigative Specialist with the Special Surveillance Group and played a major role in the arrest, conviction, and imprisonment of FBI agent Robert Hanssen for spying on behalf of the Soviet Union and Russia. Hanssen restarted communications the next year and continued until his arrest. He was delegated to probe police officers who were suspected of corruption. They gave him a new job supervising FBI computer security. There he served as an investigator of internal affairs with specialisation in forensic accounting. While this arrest represents a counterintelligence investigative success, the complaint alleges that Hanssen located and removed undetected from the FBI substantial quantities of information that he was able to access as a result of his assignments. He managed to avoid a death penalty by negotiating a plea deal where he agreed to cooperate with government agents. We particularly appreciate the unhesitating leadership and support of Attorney General Ashcroft from the moment he took office. In January 2001, Hanssen moved into a small office in FBI Headquarters secretly outfitted with surveillance cameras and microphones. On January 12 that year he was posted in FBIs field office in Gary, Indiana, and in 1978 he was again transferred to its field office in New York. Robert Christian Boes Hansen was born in Estherville, Iowa, at Coleman Hospital on February 15, 1939, the elder of two children to an American mother and a Danish father. Hanssen warned the KGB that Bloch was being investigated, causing the KGB to end contact with him abruptly. Hanssen received payments of $1.4 million in cash and diamonds from the information he gave the Soviet Union and Russia. 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. 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. At some point in 1979, Hanssen made a decision to sell American secrets to the Soviets. His book written about this experience, Gray Day: My Undercover Mission to Expose America's First Cyber Spy, was published in spring 2019. When these two KGB officials returned to Moscow, they were tried and convicted on espionage charges and executed. [7][8] He was sentenced to 15 life terms without the possibility of parole. 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. After the transfer, while on a business visit back to Washington, D.C., he resumed his espionage career. Hansen even followed in his fathers footsteps and opened up his own bakery. He worked in an accounting firm for a year after which he was selected in the Chicago Police Department. In the last letter he wrote to the Russians, which was found by the FBI when he was arrested, Hanssen said that he had been promoted to a "do-nothing job outside of regular access to information," and that, "Something has aroused the sleeping tiger". For many years, the CIA and FBI have been aggressively engaged in a sustained analytical effort to identify foreign penetrations of the Intelligence Community. At one point Hanssen spoke to a Russian agent over a pay phone, but they generally relied on placing signals in public places. children: Greg Hanssen, Jane Hanssen, John Hanssen, Lisa Hanssen, Mark Hanssen, Sue Hanssen Born Country: United States Spies American Men City: Chicago, Illinois Notable Alumni: Knox College (Illinois) U.S. State: Illinois More Facts Recommended Lists: American People Kellogg School Of Management Male Spies American Spies Aries Men On February 18, 2001, Hanssen was arrested and charged with committing espionage on behalf of Russia and the former Soviet Union. Hanssen's story was featured in episode 4, under the name of "Perfect Traitor", of Smithsonian Channel's series Spy Wars, aired end of 2019 and narrated by Damian Lewis.[78]. In the end, officials believed his claim that he was merely demonstrating flaws in the FBI's security system. Their actions represent counterintelligence at its very best and under the most difficult and sensitive of circumstances. [7][8] On May 10, 2002, Hanssen was sentenced to 15 consecutive sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole. His father served on the police force in Chicago and was serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II when Hanssen was born. [4] He was spying at the same time as Aldrich Ames in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Hanssen is a Special Agent of the FBI with a long career in counterintelligence. [69], Hanssen frequently visited D.C. strip clubs and spent a great deal of time with a Washington stripper named Priscilla Sue Galey. On a 2017blog post, Hale revealed that he had attempted to contact Hansen's now adult children, but was unsuccessful. After divorcing Robert, Darla was faced with a choice. [21][29] On two occasions, Hanssen gave the Soviets a complete list of American double agents. In return, he received large sums of money and other remuneration. On January 12, 1976, Robert Philip Hanssen swore an oath to enforce the law and protect the nation as a newly minted FBI special agent. [14] The next year, Hanssen was transferred to counterintelligence and given the task of compiling a database of Soviet intelligence for the FBI. He will report directly to the Attorney General and me and we will share his report with the National Security Council and Congress. But money is. [53] Upon being arrested, Hanssen asked, "What took you so long?" 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. Polyakov was carefully watched by the Russians from that point on, and was eventually arrested as a spy and executed in 1988. On February 18, 2001, Hanssen was arrested at a park in northern Virginia after he had placed a package at a dead drop location. [66] Opus Dei member C. John McCloskey said he also occasionally attended the daily noontime Mass at the Catholic Information Center in downtown Washington. The Russian had obtained Hanssen's KGB file. Hanssen also revealed a multimillion-dollar eavesdropping tunnel built by the FBI under the Soviet Embassy. Described as. In what is now considered the largest intelligence breach in FBI history, Robert Hanssen's scandal made him millions in diamonds and cash, but cost the FBI $7 million and the lives of three informants. [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. Polyakov was carefully watched by the Russians from that point on, and was eventually arrested as a spy and executed in 1988. [12] Hanssen received an MBA in accounting and information systems in 1971 and took a job with an accounting firm. Investigators learned that Hanssen was set to make a dead drop on February 18, 2001. He quit after one year and joined the Chicago Police Department as an internal affairs investigator, specializing in forensic accounting. The FBI believed his story, and Hanssen was merely given a warning. Hanssen's section evaluated Soviet agents who volunteered to give intelligence to determine whether they were genuine or re-doubled agents. Darla earned a living for the household as well, teaching children with disabilities. At least two movies have been made about Hanssen. The money Hansen generated from his bakery went elsewhere. Later, he hid a video camera in the bedroom connected via a closed-circuit television line so that Hoschouer could observe the Hanssens from his guest bedroom. Hanssen's wife, Bonnie, retired from teaching theology at Oakcrest in 2020. An official website of the United States government. 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. Robert was described as a loner and a quiet person, and he had a strained relationship as well with his strict and dominating father. Children: Lisa, Greg, Mark, John "Jack," Sue and Jane Education: Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, A.B. [4] The family moved to Richmond, California in 1942, but returned to Iowa in 1949, settling in Pocahontas. When he pleaded guilty and received a 461-year prison sentence in 1984, Darla divorced him. Desk: FBI and CIA Counterintelligence As Seen From My Cubicle Dog Ear Publishing 2010, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Gray Day: My Undercover Mission to Expose America's First Cyber Spy, Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI's Robert Hanssen Betrayed America, "USA v. Robert Philip Hanssen: Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint, Arrest Warrant and Search Warrant", "Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator", "A Review of FBI Security Programs (Webster Report)", "A Review of the FBI's Performance in Deterring, Detecting, and Investigating the Espionage Activities of Robert Philip Hanssen", Thompson Statement Regarding Hanssen Guilty Plea, "Spy's Wife Speaks, After Taking a Lie Test", "Riddle Resolved: Who Dimed Out American Traitor and Super-Spy, Robert Hanssen? For more than a decade, Hansen had been luring sex workers into his vehicle or home with the promise of an easy transaction. This wedded bliss was short-lived, however. In his office, Hanssen had full access to the FBIs Automated Case Support (ACS) system and the State Departments computer systems. At work, he often spoke of his religious faith and conservative values, traits which helped him avoid any suspicion during the years that he was in secret communication with Russian spies. January 12, 1976 - Joins the FBI as a special agent. 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. With the mole finally identified, locations, dates, and cases were matched with Hanssen's activities during the period. appreciated. Robert Hanssen, FBI Agent Who Became a Soviet Mole. He was made the chief of National Security Threat List Unit of FBI in Washington, D.C. in 1992. Because of his experience and training as a counterintelligence agent, Hanssen went undetected for years, although some of his unusual activities had aroused suspicion from time to time. He visited an office of the Russian government's trading company and offered to spy. Christian owned a bakery and would make his son work for long hours as a kid. In 1981 he was assigned to the Budget Unit in the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. His job in the suburb of Vienna included electronic surveillance and wiretapping, which gave him more access to different FBI activities. 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. [52], However, Hanssen's suspicions did not stop him from making one more dead drop. Darla fled the state to Arkansas, where she had family. 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. "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. He was born on April 18, 1944, in Chicago, Illinois, to Howard and Vivian Hanssen. An FBI arrest team moved into position at Foxstone Park, a location where Hanssen had been spotted before by FBI surveillance. [27][28] When the Soviets began construction on a new embassy during 1977, the FBI dug a tunnel beneath their decoding room. Our hearts go out to them. Therefore, after he was given a 461-year sentence for his crimes, she chose to divorce him. After a stint of three years he was shifted to the Soviet Analytical Unit that delved in probing, recognising and catching Soviet agents in the US. Both Ames and Hanssen compromised the names of KGB agents working secretly for the U.S., some of whom were executed for their betrayal. The fact that the KGB became aware of the probe triggered the FBI to look for the leak. His assistant, Eric ONeill, was tasked with keeping investigators apprised of Hanssens movements. "[55], Hanssen is Federal Bureau of Prisons prisoner #48551-083. Hanssen is mentioned in chapter 5 of Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code as the most noted Opus Dei member to non-members. 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. His espionage was described by the Department of Justice as "possibly the worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history." Hanssen is currently serving 15 consecutive life sentences without parole at ADX Florence, a federal supermax prison near Florence, Colorado. Throughout his spying, Hanssen remained anonymous to the Russians. The FBI planned to use it for eavesdropping but never did for fear of being caught. He enrolled in dental school at Northwestern University[11] but switched his focus to business after three years. 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