Serial killer Robert Hansen confessed to killing 17 women in Alaska over a 12-year span, all while married with two children. During his 15 years as an alleged Russian mole, Robert Hanssen had access to many vital . 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.. For instance, a piece of adhesive tape placed on a sign in a park in Virginia would indicate that a package had been placed in a "dead drop" location, which was usually under a small footbridge in the park. He was sentenced to life in prison. 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. During his sessions with investigators, Hanssen claimed his motivation had always been financial. Over the next few years, she said, she questioned him about whether he was working with the Russians once more. 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. Source: Netflix Article continues below advertisement Why too much original content from Netflix is bad for subs 11-year-old reads aloud from 'pornographic' book he checked out from library at school board meeting, Influencer refuses to switch business class seats so family can sit together, Ousted Chicago mayor blames loss on racism, gender but not her tepid response to crime, Gisele Bndchen wants to try again and do better after Tom Brady split, Sam Levinson accused of turning The Weeknd show The Idol into rape fantasy, Scheana Shay tears up over former friend Stassi Schroeders pregnancy news, Good luck 'worming' your way out of this one, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry have first night out since bombshell 'Spare' released. Many of the questions centered on assertions made by Mrs. Hanssen's brother, Mark Wauck, an F.B.I. Read more Print length 352 pages Hanssen was serving as a detailee to the Office of Foreign Missions at the Department of State at the time suspicions around him arose. 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. But, she said, she was determined to hold her husband to the deal. Brookner said that the only time Bonnie Hanssen harbored any suspicions about her husbands activities came around 1979 or 1980, when they lived in Scarsdale, N.Y. She walked in on him and he covered up some papers, so she got suspicious, Brookner said. Hanssen made the donation to a charity affiliated with Mother Teresa, and cut off contact with the Soviets for the next few years. An official website of the United States government. The complaint alleges that Hanssen conspired to and did commit espionage for Russia and the former Soviet Union. 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. McNamara, Robert. Opus Dei and Hanssen: Masters of Paradox . TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. 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. She sold their house and bakery in Alaska and shifted closer to her family in Arkansas after the children were getting bullied massively at their school. (They took Hanssens Ford and the plan to search his car was dropped for the time being.). They were finishing just as Hanssen texted that he was on his way back. I never want you in my office again, Hanssen said. Or, rather, one person does. Robert Philip Hanssen, a 27 year veteran of the FBI, was a double agent. While other spies were still chasing after paper files, Hanssen had entered the digital world. 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. 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. Mr. Hanssen agreed, and his wife, pregnant with their fourth child, was relieved. 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. (AP Photo/Doug Mills) In all, by the time he was arrested in February 2001, Hanssen collected an estimated $1.4 million for giving lists of American undercover agents abroad, the identities of Russian double agents, documents showing the U.S. was intercepting Soviet satellite transmission and the methods by which the U.S . 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. Hanssen was an FBI agent for 25 years, but he was also a spy for the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation . I slammed the door behind me and slid to a halt in Hanssens office.. 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. After being released, he met his second wife, Darla Henrichsen, and the pair got married in 1963. Couldnt this have waited till Monday? he asked. Robert Hanssen, FBI Agent Who Became a Soviet Mole. Were you in my office? Hanssen leaned over my desk, his face inches from mine. For years, Hanssen stopped contacting the Russians. 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. 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. 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. He happens to be Catholic. 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. Hanssen's guilty plea involved 15 counts of espionage and conspiracy. Children: Lisa, Greg, Mark, John "Jack," Sue and Jane Education: Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, A.B. Sometime in the mid-1960s, Robert Hansen got married for the second time. 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. I raised my chin and met his eyes, puffed out my chest and stood with my feet shoulder-width apart. The complaint, however, does not allege any compromises by him at the State Department. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 Hanssen became much more wary. appreciated. After five years working at the bureau as a ghost following suspects for a living he would be stepping out of the shadows: spying on someone in plain sight. As part of that review, the inspector general asked Mrs. Hanssen to take a polygraph test, just days before the sentencing. Suit David Huband Photographer Catherine Burdon Agent Nece Interestingly, Hansen got married twice. One reason for her frustration may be that some government officials were apparently not convinced of her story. But even as her life regains some sense of normalcy, Bonnie Hanssen struggles to understand the havoc that the last few months have wrought, Brookner said. Hanssen was finally discovered when a former KGB agent contacted American intelligence agents. Marriage: Bernadette Bonnie (Wauck) Hanssen (August 10, 1968-present), Children: Lisa, Greg, Mark, John Jack, Sue and Jane, Education: Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, A.B. I told him I thought it was insane.''. Annoyed at ONeills seeming incompetence, Hanssen lashed out, calling him an imbecile and a moron. Finally, he said, Well take my car, and thats final.. Posted in . 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. Robert Hanssen is a family man, devout Catholic, career FBI agent, and the most damaging spy in American history. 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. As it turned out, Hanssen had just been spotted by agents driving at a snails pace past the sign for Foxstone Park in Vienna, Va. He was arrested while in the process of using a dead drop to clandestinely provide numerous classified documents to his Russian handler. 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. Nor can there be any doubt that he was keenly aware of the gravity of his traitorous actions. This time, Mrs. Hanssen insisted that they find a cheaper place to live than Scarsdale. He became an agent in 1976, and spent two years working in the Indianapolis, Indiana, field office. Without the current unprecedented level of trust and cooperation between the CIA and FBI, making this case would not have been possible. Hanssen was suspected of leaking critical US intelligence. 1999 - Resumes spying, this time for the Russian Intelligence agency. ''He never said he was spying. In the early 1980s, Hanssen was transferred to FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. To his colleagues in the bureau he seemed to be a model agent. 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. Hanssen would now be ONeills boss. Home; Features; Services; About; Contact; Login; Get Free Demo 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.) Now 74, he is serving time at ADX Florence, the federal supermax prison in Colorado. Now she says she has chosen to speak out at last because she wants to answer one question she has heard dozens of times: How could Robert P. Hanssen's wife of 34 years not have known he was a spy? The Soviets, suspicious of being lured into a trap, demanded to meet him. 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. Chicago Tribune July 4, 2001. Because of these coordinated efforts, the FBI was able to secure original Russian documentation of an American spy who appeared to the FBI to be Hanssen a premise that was soon to be confirmed when Hanssen was identified by the FBI as having clandestinely communicated with Russian intelligence officers. 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. Updated 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. Hansen even followed in his father's footsteps and opened up his own bakery. I imagined I could smell gunpowder on his breath, ONeill writes. Director Tenet and I have briefed the intelligence committees of Congress because of the clear national security implications. They bought a modest, three-bedroom home in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., north of New York City. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Literally, Hanssens colleagues and coworkers at the FBI conducted this investigation and did so quietly, securely and without hesitation. In May 2002, Hanssen was sentenced to life in prison. McNamara, Robert. 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. He compromised the security of his country and put the lives of colleagues in danger. "I have opened the door for calumny against my totally innocent wife and children. Robert Hanssen is a former FBI agent notorious for committing treason and selling state secrets to the Soviets (later the Russians). (2020, August 28). The next day he ordered ONeill to drive him to a meeting. Follow. 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. He betrayed his country. 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. Today in Security. Alleman explained to ONeill that the smoking gun would be an actual information drop for the Russians. Realizing the importance of the material, the United States paid $7 million for it. However, even though Hansen would go to church with his wife, nothing really changed. Unlike Cold War spies of an earlier era, Hanssen claimed to have no political motivation for selling out his country. ONeill, 46, left the FBI in May 2001. Robert Hanssen is a former FBI agent who sold highly classified material to Russian intelligence agents for decades before he was finally arrested in 2001. Robert was described as a loner and a quiet person, and he had a strained relationship as well with his strict and dominating father. Enraged to the point that his fist was clenched in a tight ball, Hanssen ran through his usual list of insults Idiot! 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. '', ''I have very supportive friends, who have been tremendous,'' Mrs. Hanssen said. 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 tension would not lessen over the next few days, with Hanssen telling ONeill he was a worthless clerk.. But dont be fooled by that appearance. 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. The purloined PalmPilot gave the FBI the final piece of the puzzle: Hanssens next meeting with the Russians was scheduled for the following weekend. She visits her husband in prison regularly. Their goal was to catch Hanssen red handed in espionage. Among the files was a letter from Hanssen to the Russians arranging to meet. 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. Yet Brookner said Bonnie Hanssen has no intention of divorcing her husband. 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. Lesley Stahl has learned that Robert Hanssen, the FBI agent who betrayed his country, also betrayed his church and his wife. The arrest of Robert Hanssen by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on charges of counterespionage represents a major crisis for the US intelligence apparatus. You can call me sir, or boss, Hanssen said. In fact, he had already betrayed one of the United States' most important agents: Gen. Dmitri Polyakov of the G.R.U. Hanssen subsequently was assigned to a variety of national security posts that legitimately provided him access to classified information relating to the former Soviet Union and Russia. Hanssen was set to retire, so investigators had to move fast. Anyone can read what you share. 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. They never lived the high life; they never even went out to dinner, she said. A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Two were executed. The pension was an important consideration for Hanssen in his plea negotiations, Brookner said. 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 His tale was also made into the 2007 movie Breach.. He had opportunity. We believe it was exceptionally grave. Children: Lisa, Greg, Mark, John "Jack," Sue and Jane. . Senior FBI officials described him as . Much of what these men and women did remains undisclosed but their success and that of their CIA counterparts represents unparalleled expertise and dedication to both principle and mission. 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. He visited an office of the Russian government's trading company and offered to spy. He spied for the Soviets . This story has been shared 149,018 times. May 31, 2001 - Pleads not guilty to all charges. Before Hanssen left the position, Sullivan went to learn his new role at the Department of State. Hanssen wanted to be posted to Allenwood in hopes that he might be visited frequently by his wife Bonnie and their six children. Robert P. Bucciarelli, a priest affiliated with Opus Dei, a conservative Catholic organization the Hanssens had joined several years earlier. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. 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. His Father, Howard Hanssen, was an officer with the Chicago police department and his mother, Vivian Hanssen, was a . The actions alleged date back as far as 1985 and, with the possible exception of several years in the 1990s, continued until his arrest on Sunday. Biography of Vladimir Putin: From KGB Agent to Russian President, The Biggest Donald Trump Scandals (So Far), President Truman's Executive Order 9835 Demanded Loyalty, Biography of Louis Armstrong, Expert Trumpeter and Entertainer, Biography of Alger Hiss: Government Official Accused of Spying, Biography of Mata Hari, Infamous World War I Spy, Haym Salomon, Spy and Financier of the American Revolution, Biography of Virginia Hall, WWII's Most Wanted Spy, Biography of Fred Hampton, Black Panther Party Leader, Biography of Robert Kennedy, US Attorney General, Presidential Candidate, John Dillinger's Life as Public Enemy Number 1, The Most Important Inventions of the Industrial Revolution. 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. 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