Couldnt this have waited till Monday? he asked. A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. 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. May 31, 2001 - Pleads not guilty to all charges. Hanssen wanted to be posted to Allenwood in hopes that he might be visited frequently by his wife Bonnie and their six children. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Robert Hanssen is a former FBI agent notorious for committing treason and selling state secrets to the Soviets (later the Russians). 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. Two were executed. Before Hanssen left the position, Sullivan went to learn his new role at the Department of State. 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. They drove to New Rochelle to meet with the Rev. Father Bucciarelli came up with a plan to save Mr. Hanssen from prison, Mrs. Hanssen told investigators during the polygraph test, her lawyer said. 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. 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. Alleman tasked him with purloining Hanssens PalmPilot. Upon becoming a special agent on January 12, 1976, Hanssen was transferred to the FBI's Gary, Indiana, field office. As alleged, he did so using a variety of sophisticated means of communication, encryption, and dead drops. The family hopes Mr. Hanssen will be sent to the federal prison in Allenwood, Pa., which would be close enough for Mrs. Hanssen to continue to visit regularly. His target would be Robert Hanssen, a 25-year FBI veteran that the bureau suspected might be the most treacherous and damaging double agent in US history. During his 15 years as an alleged Russian mole, Robert Hanssen had access to many vital . Classic animal aggression, ONeill writes. Although Robert Hanssen forfeited all the money he received from Moscow, his wife and six children get to keep their Vienna, Va., home and three cars, under the plea agreement. Friends of Hanssen later came forward and told journalists that Hanssen had exhibited eccentric behavior, which included an obsession with pornography. He often steered conversations to talk of religion and his very conservative values, which were aligned with the very conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei. They never lived the high life; they never even went out to dinner, she said. You can call me sir, or boss, Hanssen said. ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/robert-hanssen-4587832. In 1978, Hanssen was transferred to the FBI office in New York City and was assigned to a counterintelligence post. He pled. 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. 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. 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. The plea bargain allows Bonnie Hanssen to receive about 55% of Hanssens pension, which will total an estimated $39,000 per year. 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. He became an agent in 1976, and spent two years working in the Indianapolis, Indiana, field office. by Tammy A. DiNicola. The US government took the death penalty off the table in exchange for Hanssens full cooperation. Literally, Hanssens colleagues and coworkers at the FBI conducted this investigation and did so quietly, securely and without hesitation. 40K views 2 years ago On this day February 18, 2001, Robert Hanssen was arrested and charged with committing espionage on behalf of the intelligence services of the former Soviet Union. At the end of the Cold War, Hanssen sold classified secrets to the Soviet and Russian intelligence services. Hanssen was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 18, 1944 to a family of German and Polish origins. The investigation of Hanssen was conducted by the FBI in partnership with the CIA, the Department of State, and, of course, the Justice Department. In school, he was bullied for his acne, girls would not talk to him, and he also developed a stutter. 2. Christian owned a bakery and would make his son work for long hours as a kid. He visited an office of the Russian government's trading company and offered to spy. I take solace and satisfaction, however, that the FBI succeeded in this investigation. At least three Russian agents he identified had been executed, and it was suspected that he compromised dozens of intelligence operations. 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. On May 10, 2002, Robert Philip Hanssen was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Discovery Company. Hanssen refused. 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.. 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. Hanssen was incarcerated in a "supermax" federal prison in Colorado which also houses other notorious inmates, including the Unabomber, one of the Boston Marathon bombers, and a number of organized crime figures. The double agent was arrested (above right) in 2001 by the FBI after leaving intel for them under a bridge in the park. In return, he received large sums of money and other remuneration. . The parents of six children, Bob and Bonnie "were the picture of a perfect family. 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.. agent who confessed to selling secrets to Moscow, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole today by a . Authorities say Hanssen was driven by greed, but Brookner rejected that assertion. January 12, 1976 - Joins the FBI as a special agent. Children: Lisa, Greg, Mark, John "Jack," Sue and Jane. 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. Robert Hanssen is accused of spying for the Soviet Union and is awaiting trial. Warmer storms could cause problems, Jaguars, narcos, illegal loggers: One mans battle to save a jungle and Maya ruins, Dr. Simi is a TikTok star. robert hanssen children. At their very first meeting, ONeill reached out his hand and began to introduce himself. 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. 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. 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. Furthermore, she supported her husband when he was first incarcerated for theft, and then for abducting and sexually abusing a housewife and a prostitute (although the rape charge concerning the latter was dropped when he pleaded guilty.) Mr. Hanssen agreed, and his wife, pregnant with their fourth child, was relieved. 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. She is also challenging some of her husbands credit card bills. ONeill would have no problem achieving that but he did have a major concern. 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. ONeill rushed everything he found to Alleman, who had all of it copied, and then quickly returned the contents to Hanssens bag. agent in Chicago. Russian operatives left signals for Hanssen at Foxstone Park in Vienna, Va. On February 18, 2001, Hanssen was arrested at a park in northern Virginia after he had placed a package at a dead drop location. The wildest part? A Spy in Plain Sight: The Inside Story of the FBI and Robert Hanssen, America's Most Damaging Russian Spy, Lis Wiehl (Pegasus, 2022), 336 pages. Hanssen was detailed to the Office of Foreign Missions at the Department of State from 1995 to 2000. He spied for the Soviets . Robert Philip Hanssen had drifted through several false starts in life before he settled in at the FBI. (CNN) -- While he acted the patriot and family man, FBI agent Robert Hanssen was selling his country's most classified . The pension was an important consideration for Hanssen in his plea negotiations, Brookner said. One reason for her frustration may be that some government officials were apparently not convinced of her story. I never want you in my office again, Hanssen said. 's New York field office. Instead, he ultimately became the most damaging spy in. In order to put the double-crosser away forever, ONeill would need to put his life on the line again. Hanssen would now be ONeills boss. Is sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. The first time around, his wife divorced him after a mere half-year because of his incarceration for arson in Iowa. The Ellis drop site, under a footbridge over Wolftrap Creek at Foxstone Park near Vienna, Va. 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