A CIA turncoat who orchestrated one of the most damaging intelligence breaches in American history by selling secrets to the Soviet Union and Russia has died in prison.
Aldrich Ames admitted receiving $2.5m (£1.85m) from Moscow after betraying Western intelligence assets from 1985 until his arrest in 1994.
The identities of 10 Russian officials and one Eastern European who were spying for the US or UK were among his disclosures, and his betrayal has been blamed for the executions of Western agents working behind the Iron Curtain.
The 31-year CIA veteran, who also revealed spy satellite operations, eavesdropping, and general spy procedures, later pleaded guilty without a trial to espionage and tax evasion.
He was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1994. His wife, Rosario, pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was sentenced to 63 months in prison.
A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons confirmed Ames died behind bars in Maryland on Monday. He was 84.
Ames said he felt “profound shame and guilt” for “this betrayal of trust, done for the basest motives”.
‘Spy wars’
He also admitted to The Washington Post before sentencing that he had “financial troubles, immediate and continuing”.
But he downplayed the consequences of his actions, saying he had not “noticeably damaged” the US nor “noticeably aided” Moscow.
“These spy wars are a sideshow which have had no real impact on our significant security interests over the years,” he told the court.
According to an FBI history of the case, Ames, who spoke Russian, was working in the Soviet division at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, when he was first approached by the KGB.
He continued passing secrets to the Soviets while stationed in Rome and after returning to Washington.
But the FBI opened an investigation in May 1993 after being tipped off about Ames’s unexplained wealth. What followed was a 10-month probe, comprising intense physical and electronic surveillance.
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On October 13 1993, Ames made a chalk mark on a mailbox to confirm to his Russian contacts that he would meet them in Bogota, Colombia, where he was later observed with his handler.
But when he planned a trip to Moscow as part of his official duties, a plan to arrest him was approved.
