Convicted Moscow spy Aldrich Ames dies at 84
Aldrich Ames is considered one of the most harmful spies in U.S. counterintelligence history.
Aldrich Ames, a former CIA counterintelligence officer who gained notoriety as a double agent for the Soviet Union and later Russia, has died. He was 84 years old.
Ames, who was serving a life sentence without parole at the Federal Correctional Facility in Cumberland, Maryland, died on January 5, the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed to USA TODAY. The agency’s inmate database did not list the cause of death or place of death.
Ames is said to be one of the most harmful spies in the history of American counterintelligence. The FBI said Ames acted as a double agent and compromised intelligence by leaking classified documents and the identities of CIA and FBI sources. Soviet authorities eventually executed some of the sources.
In February 1994, Ames was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on suspicion of espionage. He later pleaded guilty to spying for Moscow and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
At the time of Ames’ arrest, the FBI said he was a 31-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency and was believed to have been spying for the Soviet Union and Russia since 1985. Federal authorities also accused Ames’ wife, Rosario Ames, of aiding and abetting espionage.
Ames’ espionage efforts made him one of the highest-paid spies in history, according to the Center for Security Excellence Development. He received a total of $4.6 million for espionage.
His case sparked widespread scrutiny of vulnerabilities within the CIA and shook confidence in the federal agency.
Ames information led to ‘at least 100’ US intelligence operations being compromised
Ames was born in River Falls, Wisconsin, in 1941, the son of an alcoholic CIA officer. He later became a CIA case officer specializing in Russian intelligence, according to the FBI.
Throughout his career, Ames worked in New York City and other countries including Türkiye, Mexico, and Italy. He was assigned to the CIA’s Soviet/Eastern European Division in 1985, where he “secretly volunteered to join the KGB staff at the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C.,” the FBI said.
The Center for Security Excellence Development said Mr. Ames was deeply in debt when he began selling classified information to the Soviet government.
“Information he provided led to the compromise of at least 100 U.S. intelligence operations and the execution of at least 10 U.S. intelligence sources,” the center said. “He eventually revealed to the Soviet government the names of all American agents operating in the country.”
Federal authorities tipped off after employees disappeared at an ‘alarming rate’
The Center for the Development of Security Excellence said the CIA and FBI were tipped off to learn that agents were “disappearing at an alarming rate,” and the FBI learned that Russian officials recruited by the United States were being arrested and executed.
“These human sources provided important intelligence information about the Soviet Union that was used by U.S. policymakers in determining U.S. foreign policy,” the FBI said.
The FBI began its investigation in May 1993 after reviewing information about “Ames’ unexplained wealth,” according to the bureau. After a 10-month investigation and raid of Ames’ residence, the FBI discovered documents and other information linking Ames to Russian foreign intelligence.
Ames was arrested by the FBI in February 1994 in Arlington, Virginia. Later, in April 1994, he confessed and pleaded guilty to charges of espionage and conspiracy to commit tax evasion.
