On February 18, 2001, Hanssen was arrested at a park in northern Virginia after he had placed a package at a dead drop location. 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. 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. 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. 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. Agents find a bag nearby containing $50,000 that they believe is Hanssens payment for the documents. Browse 139 robert hanssen stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Our hearts go out to them. Among the files was a letter from Hanssen to the Russians arranging to meet. Under Mr. Hanssen's plea bargain, she. Home; Features; Services; About; Contact; Login; Get Free Demo Robert Hanssen, a church-going family man and FBI agent for 25 years, was actually working as a Soviet spy for well over 20 years. I never want you in my office again, Hanssen said. 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. 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As Director of the FBI, I am proud of the courageous men and women of the FBI who each day make enormous sacrifices in serving their country. She said that her husband is ''doing about as well as can be expected,'' and that ''he is very relieved that I have the pension. 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.. 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. He married Bernadette Wauck in 1968 and, influenced by his devout Catholic wife, he converted to Catholicism. Hanssen would now be ONeills boss. 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. 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 was arrested while in the process of using a dead drop to clandestinely provide numerous classified documents to his Russian handler. Timeline. Playing to Hanssens ego, the underling, a newlywed, said he needed relationship advice about his wife wanting to wait to have children. All three were arrested; two were executed. The Robert Hanssen Story" was released in 2002. We particularly appreciate the unhesitating leadership and support of Attorney General Ashcroft from the moment he took office. At one point Hanssen spoke to a Russian agent over a pay phone, but they generally relied on placing signals in public places. (CNN) -- While he acted the patriot and family man, FBI agent Robert Hanssen was selling his country's most classified . Yet some investigators believed anger about how his father treated him as a child triggered a need to rebel against authority. The criminal conduct alleged represents the most traitorous actions imaginable against a country governed by the Rule of Law. Hanssen is a Special Agent of the FBI with a long career in counterintelligence. She did not want her husband to be tempted to work for the Russians again, she told the Justice Department. One day, she said, she found her husband scurrying to cover up some papers in the basement of their home in Scarsdale, N.Y. He was arrested in 2001 and sentenced to life without parole in federal prison in 2002 Born: April 14, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois Education: Knox College and Northwestern University, where he received an MBA Christopher Burgess / Feb 18, 2021. Hanssen was the son of a police officer. 1981 - Hanssens wife catches him with classified documents and convinces him to stop spying. May 10, 2002 Posted: 11:59 AM EDT (1559 GMT) Former FBI agent Robert Hanssen. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much FBI agents outside Robert Hanssen's home in Virginia, Feb. 20, 2001. in Chemistry, 1966; Attended Northwestern University Dental School, 1966-1968;. A few years later, they moved to Anchorage, Alaska, and had two children. While Darla suspected that he had been frequenting prostitutes, she had no idea of the literal manhunt he conducted. The answer shocked ONeill, then 26. When Eric ONeills supervisor turned up unannounced at his Washington, DC-area home early on a Sunday morning, the still-groggy FBI employee was perplexed. 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. Long-lost ship found at the bottom of Lake Huron, confirming story of tragic collision, TikTok to set default daily time limit of up to 60 minutes for minors, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles, Shocking, impossible gas bills push restaurants to the brink of closures, TikTok faces bans in a number of countries over security fears. He betrayed his wife. He worked as a policeman in Chicago for three years and was placed on an elite unit that investigated corruption. 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. 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. Minutes later, ONeill extracted it from the mans bag, along with a floppy disc and a flash drive, running everything downstairs for a tech team to copy. Another government official confirmed that Mrs. Hanssen was given a polygraph test and said she had passed it. Sullivan noted that Hanssen spent a lot of time trolling ACS for information. He didnt see the PalmPilot, but there was a messenger bag and it was a jackpot: full of data disks, financial statements, a passport and a second cellphone. He was Amazon.com's first-ever history editor and has bylines in New York, the Chicago Tribune, and other national outlets. Hanssen reportedly lavished cash and gifts on a Washington stripper whom he befriended. But she was questioned in the polygraph test on her knowledge of Mr. Hanssen's later spying career. 1972 - Joins the Chicago Police Department. Hanssen parked on a residential street and walked down a wooded path to a footbridge with the classified materials wrapped in a plastic bag. 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. 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. Hanssen, in full blowhard mode, got back in the car and the two took the slow route as he lectured ONeill. He betrayed his best friend, offering him up to the KGB. Hanssen was detailed to the Office of Foreign Missions at the Department of State from 1995 to 2000. 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. Source: Netflix Article continues below advertisement He was, after all, a trained counterintelligence specialist. The bureau had not asked her to take a polygraph test after her husband's arrest in February 2001. In 1985 he approached the Soviets again and offered valuable secrets. 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. robert hanssen children. '', ''I have very supportive friends, who have been tremendous,'' Mrs. Hanssen said. She agreed to describe the results, Ms. Brookner said, because they exonerated Mrs. Hanssen. Children: Lisa, Greg, Mark, John "Jack," Sue and Jane. Director Louis Freeh discusses the arrest of veteran FBI agent Robert Philip Hanssen on spy charges. They were deported and arrested. 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. In May 2002, Hanssen was sentenced to life in prison. Judge Webster and anyone he selects to assist him will have complete access and whatever resources are necessary to complete this task. Guilty plea would mean life term, money for family By Naftali Bendavid . At their very first meeting, ONeill reached out his hand and began to introduce himself. Sometime in the mid-1960s, Robert Hansen got married for the second time. 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. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 Hanssen became much more wary. The crimes alleged are an affront not only to his fellow FBI employees but to the American people, not to mention the pain and suffering he has brought upon his family. Hanssen checked the sign three times that night. John Cusack plays the villain in the movie, and if youre curious to know, let me tell you that the story is inspired by the serial killer Robert Hansen. agent sentenced to life in prison on Friday after he pleaded guilty to spying for Moscow off and on for more than 20 years. 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.) A former FBI Supervisory Special Agen. 's investigation of Mr. Hanssen, the former F.B.I. He lobbied his Russian masters to buy him a newer PalmPilot, with wireless Internet capabilities, which would allow the rapid transmission of encrypted messages. But the government could not prove he had lied, and wishing to avoid a public trial, the government chose not to void his plea agreement. Updated (The bureau wanted someone pretty green so as not to arouse suspicion.) He pled. The evidence against him was overwhelming, and to avoid the death penalty, Hanssen confessed and agreed to be debriefed by American intelligence officials. 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. Days later, ONeill helped devise another plan to get Hanssen out of the office: Two senior officers dropped in unexpectedly and said they wanted to go to the shooting practice range with Hanssen during lunch. Robert Hanssen is accused of spying for the Soviet Union and is awaiting trial. ONeill needed to stall, but without arousing further suspicion. In it he betrayed three Soviet officers who were working for the Central Intelligence Agency and the bureau. 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. Robert Phillip Hanssen was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 18, 1944. So it appears that the Justice inspector general, an independent office that monitors the department's work, was trying to determine whether the F.B.I. 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 10, 2002 - Is sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. As Hanssen walked back to his car, the arrest team rushed up and took him into custody. 29:4-30:1, 2006, pp. Literally, Hanssens colleagues and coworkers at the FBI conducted this investigation and did so quietly, securely and without hesitation. 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