Midwestern Roots Hanssen was born in April 1944, the only child of a Chicago cop. (2020, August 28). Born in 1939 to a father who forced him to work long hours at the family bakery while subjecting him to ridicule and mockery and a mother who . agent sentenced to life in prison on Friday after he pleaded guilty to spying for Moscow off and on for more than 20 years. 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. Unlike Cold War spies of an earlier era, Hanssen claimed to have no political motivation for selling out his country. 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. Two and a half years ago, the FBI arrested Robert Hanssen, a 22-year veteran of the bureau, for selling secrets to Russia. For many years, the CIA and FBI have been aggressively engaged in a sustained analytical effort to identify foreign penetrations of the Intelligence Community. Who were Robert Hansen's wives and children? Darla was an extremely religious woman, and she felt that faith could be his way out. The parents of six children, Bob and Bonnie "were the picture of a perfect family. ', Before I could blink, [Hanssen] had the lapels of my sport coat twisted in his fists and curled me up to eye level, leaving my toes tipping for balance on the floor. Twenty years ago today, Hanssen was arrested on February 18, 2001 when he was . Timeline. In January 2001, Hanssen moved into a small office in FBI Headquarters secretly outfitted with surveillance cameras and microphones. For more information:- Press Release - Veteran FBI Agent Arrested and Charged with Espionage- Affidavit- Statement ofFBI Director Louis J. Freeh on the Arrestof FBI Special Agent Robert Philip Hanssen (see below), Statement of FBI Director Louis J. Freeh On the Arrestof FBI Special Agent Robert Philip Hanssen, For Immediate ReleaseFebruary 20, 2001Washington D.C.FBI National Press Office. Heart Of Darkness. Robert was born in 1939 in Iowa to Danish immigrants Christian and Edna Hansen. "Robert Hanssen, FBI Agent Who Became a Soviet Mole." One day in February, when Hanssen was away, ONeill took a risk and snuck into his boss office. On this day in history (February 18), one of the most famous and damaging insiders within the FBI, Robert Philip Hanssen was arrested. By February 2001, about 300 personnel were working the investigation and monitoring Hanssen. He was arrested while in the process of using a dead drop to clandestinely provide numerous classified documents to his Russian handler. WASHINGTON -- Robert Hanssen, the longtime FBI agent accused of passing secrets to Moscow over 15 years, has reached a plea deal enabling him to avoid the death penalty in exchange for cooperating with investigators. 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. Through our cooperative efforts, the FBI and CIA were able to learn the true identity of Ramon and the FBI was able to conduct a solid investigation. (The bureau wanted someone pretty green so as not to arouse suspicion.) 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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. Hanssen is a Special Agent of the FBI with a long career in counterintelligence. Should I get him to confess?. That effort is complemented by substantial FBI proactive investigation of foreign service intelligence officers here and by the critical work done by the CIA. January 12, 2001 - Hanssen is reassigned from counterintelligence to an obscure office at FBI headquarters. Stahl reports that Hanssen invited his best friend to watch him. 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. 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. The Russian had obtained Hanssen's KGB file. The one thing the father and son would eventually have in common is their interest in hunting. He wears a revolver in an ankle holster and keeps an automatic [weapon] in his desk., In response, Alleman took a sip of her coffee to hide her smile., Fine, ONeill said. McNamara, Robert. January 12, 1976 - Joins the FBI as a special agent. 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. 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. Expert interviews recount Hanssen's life, how he stayed hidden for over 20 years, and the events leading to his arrest. 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. He pleaded guilty to 15 counts of espionage in July 2001 and was sentenced to prison without the possibility of parole. Director Tenet and I have briefed the intelligence committees of Congress because of the clear national security implications. Take your pick. 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. The investigation that led to these charges is the direct result of the longstanding FBI/CIA efforts, ongoing since the Aldrich Ames case, to identify additional foreign penetrations of the United States Intelligence Community. Hanssen made the donation to a charity affiliated with Mother Teresa, and cut off contact with the Soviets for the next few years. As they took him into custody, Hanssen turned to one and said, What took you so long?. Among the files was a letter from Hanssen to the Russians arranging to meet. Mrs. Hanssen said she demanded that her husband go with her to see their Roman Catholic priest to confess. 's investigation of Mr. Hanssen, the former F.B.I. 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. Darla, who had a masters degree in Education, would earn her own income by teaching learning disabled kids. 91 Followers. During his 15 years as an alleged Russian mole, Robert Hanssen had access to many vital . For these reasons, the FBI learned of his true identity before the Russians; they are learning of it only now. ''He never said he was spying. (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 . The Hanssens are active members of Opus Dei, a conservative Catholic group. 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. He and his wife relocated to Anchorage, Alaska in 1967. Authorities said they are convinced that Bonnie Hanssen--unlike the wives of several other notorious U.S. spies who helped their husbands--was not involved in Hanssens spying. Mr. Hanssen agreed, and his wife, pregnant with their fourth child, was relieved. Mrs. Hanssen insists she never knew about her husband's second, far longer and more damaging stint as a spy and never saw anything that made her suspect that he had taken up with the Russians again. 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. He was Amazon.com's first-ever history editor and has bylines in New York, the Chicago Tribune, and other national outlets. I scooped the devices into my arms and sprinted for the stairway, writes ONeill, who refers to this as his one true James Bond moment. Moron! As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. This is particularly timely as we move to the next generation of automation to support the FBIs information infrastructure. I live in Dallas, TX and growing up I was always the kid with "her nose in a book". 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. We particularly appreciate the unhesitating leadership and support of Attorney General Ashcroft from the moment he took office. The criminal conduct alleged represents the most traitorous actions imaginable against a country governed by the Rule of Law. She next asked ONeill to retrieve Hanssens keys so the FBI could copy them, but his boss kept his keys on him at all times. 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. 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. Bonnie Hanssen said Hanssen's family "was never the beneficiary" of any spy money and that Bonnie Hanssen has no idea what happened to the proceeds from his spying, including $800,000 that authorities say the Russians deposited for him in a Moscow bank."We don't know at this point what happened to that money," she said. In order to put the double-crosser away forever, ONeill would need to put his life on the line again. She said she repeatedly questioned her husband to ensure that he was making the payments, and each time he insisted that he was. by Tammy A. DiNicola. July 6, 2001 - Pleads guilty to 15 counts of espionage and conspiracy in exchange for the government not seeking the death penalty. Robert J. McNamara is a history expert and former magazine journalist. As O'Neill explained to the audience and often mentions in his book, Hanssen was ahead of his time. The past few weeks have uncovered many allegations of FBI agent Robert Hanssen's betrayals: unmasking U.S. agents working in Russia and exposing a multimillion dollar American . Robert Philip Hanssen had drifted through several false starts in life before he settled in at the FBI. On May 10, 2002, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. It was not a very demanding job, said Sullivan. At the end of the Cold War, Hanssen sold classified secrets to the Soviet and Russian intelligence services. Caught off guard, he grabbed his guns but not his PalmPilot. It said Bokhan's son, Alex, 18, was having trouble in military school and suggested the deputy take his vacation now, three months early, and return to the Soviet Union to deal with him. The test lasted several hours. Robert Phillip Hanssen was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 18, 1944. In school, he was bullied for his acne, girls would not talk to him, and he also developed a stutter. After work each day, ONeill would secretly meet with his actual boss, Special Agent Kate Alleman, recalling everything Hanssen said and did which, as it turned out, would be nothing pleasant. Thanks for contacting us. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Hanssen had a reputation for being wildly arrogant and dour. By the time Hanssen and ONeill returned to the office, things seemed normal. 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. Apparently, even though Hansen was naturally a left-handed person, he was always forced to use his right hand, making his speech problems worse. 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. Its amazing to live with a man for all those years and not know him.. 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