Hanssen was serving as a detailee to the Office of Foreign Missions at the Department of State at the time suspicions around him arose. The attorney estimated that Hanssen contributed $10,000 to $20,000 to Mother Teresa in small installments over the years, although the FBI has not been able to verify the payments. While their exact whereabouts are unknown to the public, it's suspected that they still live in the Midwest. Instead, he ultimately became the most damaging spy in. 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. Since he held key counterintelligence positions, he had authorized access to classified information. 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]. Hanssens espionage activities began in 1985. [58] Going by the alias "Ramon" or "Ramon Garcia",[59] Hanssen exchanged intelligence and payments through an old-fashioned dead drop system in which he and his KGB handlers left packages in public, unobtrusive places. Many of them were agents of the Soviet intelligence agency, the KGB, or its military counterpart, the GRU. [63], According to USA Today, those who knew the Hanssens described them as a close family. Some promising suspects were cleared, and the mole hunt found other penetrations, such as CIA officer Harold James Nicholson. [62] Hanssen took the risk of recommending to his handlers that they try to recruit his closest friend, a colonel in the United States Army. [4] He was spying at the same time as Aldrich Ames in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The most significant information that he shared was about Dmitri Polyakov, who while serving the Soviet Army as a General was spying for Americas CIA. Judge Webster and anyone he selects to assist him will have complete access and whatever resources are necessary to complete this task. We believe it was exceptionally grave. Bonnie had previously told her brother that Hanssen once talked about retiring in Poland, then part of the Eastern Bloc. [52], However, Hanssen's suspicions did not stop him from making one more dead drop. [6] To avoid the death penalty, Hanssen pleaded guilty to 14 counts of espionage and one of conspiracy to commit espionage. Kelley instead reported the incident to the FBI. [23] Martynov and Motorin were recalled to Moscow, where they were arrested, charged, tried, and convicted of espionage against the Soviet government. Thereafter he enrolled in Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois and in 1966 completed his bachelor degree with Chemistry as major. They created a list of all agents known to have access to cases that were compromised. 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. 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. Apparently, even though Hansen was naturally a left-handed person, he was always forced to use his right hand, making his speech problems worse. Please be aware how deeply Mrs. Hanssen regrets the damage that her husband, Robert Hanssen, has caused to our country and to their family, the statement said. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. 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. At some point in 1979, Hanssen made a decision to sell American secrets to the Soviets. 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. His book written about this experience, Gray Day: My Undercover Mission to Expose America's First Cyber Spy, was published in spring 2019. [73], Eric O'Neill's role in the capture of Robert Hanssen was dramatized in the 2007 movie Breach, in which Chris Cooper played the role of Hanssen and Ryan Phillippe played O'Neill.[74]. In 1991, he discontinued selling classified information to KGB after the collapse of Soviet Union and also probably because the FBI was on the lookout for a probable defector. The pension was an important consideration for Hanssen in his plea negotiations, Brookner said. Wauck also knew that the FBI was hunting for a mole and spoke with his supervisor, who took no action. December 2000 - The FBI begins surveillance of Hanssen. 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. Still, he was not identified as a spy. After his release 20 months later, Hansen worked at putting his life back in order. [68] He also explicitly described the sexual details of his marriage on Internet chat rooms, giving information sufficient for those who knew them to recognize the couple. https://www.thoughtco.com/robert-hanssen-4587832 (accessed January 18, 2023). May 16, 2001 - Is indicted on 21 counts of spying for the Soviet Union/Russia and passing top secret material to the Soviet Union/Russia. in Chemistry, 1966; Attended Northwestern University Dental School, 1966-1968;. 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. He was Amazon.com's first-ever history editor and has bylines in New York, the Chicago Tribune, and other national outlets. Aside from a few brushes with the law, Hansen led a fairly ordinary life. At one point Hanssen spoke to a Russian agent over a pay phone, but they generally relied on placing signals in public places. The first time around, his wife divorced him after a mere half-year because of his incarceration for arson in Iowa. This brief union did not produce any children. Imagine finding out that your husband is a ruthless serial rapist and murderer. [46][47][48], The FBI surveilled Hanssen and soon discovered he was again in contact with the Russians. Robert Hanssen, FBI Agent Who Became a Soviet Mole. After executing a search warrant, authorities found items in Hansen's home that belonged to other missing women from the area. Darla earned a living for the household as well, teaching children with disabilities. Robert J. McNamara is a history expert and former magazine journalist. He met his second wife, Darla, shortly after his parole. [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. 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. A few years later, they moved to Anchorage, Alaska, and had two children. Unlike Cold War spies of an earlier era, Hanssen claimed to have no political motivation for selling out his country. [21][29] On two occasions, Hanssen gave the Soviets a complete list of American double agents. appreciated. 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. The failure of the Bloch investigation and the FBI's investigation of how the KGB learned that they were investigating Bloch caused the mole hunt that eventually resulted in the arrest of Hanssen. He also believed he heard noises on his car radio that indicated it was bugged, although the FBI was later unable to reproduce the noises Hanssen claimed to have heard. Robert was born in 1939 in Iowa to Danish immigrants Christian and Edna Hansen. FBI career and first espionage activities (19761981), FBI counterintelligence unit, further espionage activities (19851991), Later FBI career, continued espionage activities (19922001), Lynch, Christopher, The C.I. She and her young children could remain in their home, or they could seek refuge elsewhere. By. . In this article, Hansens dynamic with his own family is discussed to give you a better insight into the life of the now-deceased murderer. 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. Bonnie Hanssens first public statements on the case reveal both her anxiety over her husbands actions and her sense of relief over the fact that she and her six children will retain an estimated $39,000 a year from his government pension. Because of his sexual deviancy and espionage conviction, the organization's reputation was badly hurt. Galey claims that although she offered to have sex with him, Hanssen declined, saying he was trying to convert her to Catholicism. [67], At Hanssen's suggestion, and without his wife's knowledge, a friend named Jack Hoschouer, a retired Army officer, would sometimes watch the Hanssens having sex through a bedroom window. Friends of Hanssen later came forward and told journalists that Hanssen had exhibited eccentric behavior, which included an obsession with pornography. "Robert Hanssen, FBI Agent Who Became a Soviet Mole." The investigation of Hanssen was conducted by the FBI in partnership with the CIA, the Department of State, and, of course, the Justice Department. Yet Brookner said Bonnie Hanssen has no intention of divorcing her husband. Darla fled the state to Arkansas, where she had family. Hansen would frequent the strip clubs in the area. In school, he was bullied for his acne, girls would not talk to him, and he also developed a stutter. O'Neill ascertained that Hanssen was using a Palm III PDA to store his information. 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. Its amazing to live with a man for all those years and not know him.. For years, Hanssen stopped contacting the Russians. I have asked Judge William H. Webster, and he has graciously agreed, to examine thoroughly the internal security functions and procedures of the FBI and recommend improvements. The FBI believes that the Russians never knew the name of their source. 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. This would already be enough to charge him with murder. He was eventually placed on administrative leave, where he remained falsely accused until after Hanssen was arrested. Hansen opened a bakery and learned how to fly the small plane that he purchased. 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. 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. On May 10, 2002, he was given sentence of fifteen life terms without a chance of parole. Robert Hanssen's business cards, chalk and thumb tacks, which he used to communicate with his Russian contacts, according to the FBI. 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. The October 1 letter began a long, active espionage period for Hanssen. [4][42], FBI investigators later made progress during an operation where they paid disaffected Russian intelligence officers to deliver information on moles. Though she named Hansen as the man who held her captive and sexually assaulted her, it wasn't until a more thorough investigation was completed that Hansen was formally charged with crimes. The FBI's codename for the suspected spy was "Graysuit". We dont know at this point what happened to that money, she said. He had opportunity. Later he would convert to Catholicism from Lutheranism. After around five years he joined the FBI in January 1976. But money is tight, she said, and the former housewife has taken a teaching job at her daughters school in Virginia. In fact, when his father passed away, Hansen inherited 17 guns from him as well. [33], Hanssen continued to take risks in 1993 when he hacked into the computer of a fellow FBI agent, Ray Mislock, printed out a classified document from Mislock's computer and took the document to Mislock, saying, "You didn't believe me that the system was insecure." Leland Hale and Walter Gilmour co-authored the 1991 book "Butcher, Baker: The True Account of an Alaskan Serial Killer," chronicling the life and crimes of Robert Hansen. All his six children went to schools linked with Opus Dei. Hanssen took an oath 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, but he decided to violate that oath. 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. Part of the Soviet intelligence agency ( CIA ) the household as well, teaching children with.! 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