Notorious FBI Agent-Turned-Russian Spy Robert Hannsen Found Dead In Prison Cell

Topline

Former FBI agent and spy Robert Hanssen was found dead in his prison cell Monday, federal officials told Forbes, more than 20 years after he was sentenced to life in prison for selling highly classified material to the Soviet Union and later Russia.

Key Facts

Hanssen, 79, was found dead in his prison cell at the federal penitentiary in Florence, Colorado, a statement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons said.

He was found unresponsive Monday morning and staff began life-saving measures, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said.

Key Background

Hanssen was known as one of the most harmful spies in U.S. history, selling thousands of classified documents—which he had access to through his job at the FBI—for cash, diamonds and bank funds. He began working for the FBI in 1976 and a few years later started spying for the Soviet Union. Using the alias “Ramon Garcia,” he sent classified information—including information on numerous human sources, counterintelligence techniques and investigations —to the former Soviet Union and later Russia, according to the FBI. It was years before the FBI and CIA realized there was a mole within the intelligence community. The agencies were eventually able to secure “original Russian documentation of an American spy” that appeared to be Hanssen, the FBI said. He was arrested in 2001 and later pleaded guilty to 15 counts of espionage. He was ultimately sentenced to life for espionage, conspiracy to commit espionage and attempted espionage. Hanssen had been in custody since July 2002, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said.

Big Number

$1.4 million. That’s how much Hanssen received in diamonds, cash and money paid into Russian accounts during his time spying, according to the FBI.

Further Reading

Robert Hanssen, Former FBI Agent Convicted Of Spying For Russia, Dead At 79 (CBS)