Aldrich Ames, CIA agent who spied for Moscow for nearly a decade, lifeless at 84

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CIA turncoat Aldrich Ames, who betrayed Western intelligence property to the Soviet Union and Russia in one of the vital damaging intelligence breaches in U.S. historical past, has died in a Cumberland, Md., jail. He was 84.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons confirmed Ames died Monday.

Ames, a CIA lifer, admitted being paid $2.5 million US by Moscow for U.S. secrets and techniques from 1985 till his arrest in 1994.

His disclosures included the identities of 10 Russian officers and one jap European who had been spying for the USA or the UK, together with spy satellite tv for pc operations, eavesdropping and common spy procedures.

His betrayals are blamed for the executions of Western brokers working behind the Iron Curtain and had been a significant setback to the CIA.

"He destroyed the community of Russian brokers who had been spying on behalf of the U.S. that had been constructed up over 20 years," stated Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tim Weiner, who lined the Ames case from its begin and interviewed the disgraced spy behind bars.

Ames pleaded responsible with no trial to espionage and tax evasion and was sentenced to life in jail with out parole. Prosecutors stated he disadvantaged the U.S. of beneficial intelligence materials for years.

Ames's spouse, Rosario, pleaded responsible to lesser espionage costs of helping his spying and was sentenced to 63 months in jail.

'The basest motives' Ames professed "profound disgrace and guilt" for "this betrayal of belief, finished for the basest motives" — cash to pay money owed. However he downplayed the injury he triggered, telling the courtroom he didn't imagine he had "noticeably broken" the USA or "noticeably aided" Moscow.

"These spy wars are a sideshow which have had no actual affect on our vital safety pursuits through the years," he informed the courtroom in a matter-of-fact tone.

In a jailhouse interview with the Washington Put up the day earlier than he was sentenced, Ames stated he was motivated to spy by "monetary troubles, fast and persevering with."

Weiner stated that Ames finally "did it for the cash" and understood what it meant when he was caught — having acknowledged to the reporter years in the past that he'd successfully sentenced himself to a dwelling loss of life.

Earlier than his arrest, Ames drove a Jaguar and lived in a cash-purchased house in a Washington suburb. He spent the ultimate three a long time of his life in jail.

WATCH | The arrest of Aldrich Ames in 1994: The 1994 arrest of CIA double agent Aldrich Ames

In February 1994, Aldrich Ames, a veteran Central Intelligence Company officer was arrested and charged with spying for the Soviet Union and Russia. Here is a take a look at what CBC viewers heard from reporter David Halton, on Prime Time Information, after the story broke. Ames was working within the Soviet/Jap European division on the CIA's headquarters in Langley, Va., when he first approached the KGB, in keeping with an FBI historical past of the case.

He continued passing secrets and techniques to the Soviets whereas stationed in Rome for the CIA and after returning to Washington. In the meantime, the U.S. intelligence neighborhood was frantically attempting to determine why so many brokers had been getting found by Moscow.

Ames's spying coincided with that of FBI agent Robert Hanssen, who was caught in 2001 and charged with taking $1.4 million US in money and diamonds to promote secrets and techniques to Moscow. Hanssen died in jail in 2023.