When former 006 Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean) faked his death and formed a Russian crime syndicate in GoldenEye, his bloodthirsty plan endangered Her Majesty’s top spy 007 (Pierce Brosnan in his Bond debut). Trevelyan was a chilling new type of villain - a threat from within. Real-life cases are not always so clear-cut. Are all spies simply heroes or traitors, or is there a gray area? This week, we dive into the complex world of double agents.
The inside story
FBI traitor Robert Hanssen collected $1.4m in cash, diamonds, and Russian bank deposits while spying for the KGB up until 2001. Hanssen saw himself as a righteous lawman purging the Bureau of shady practices. Undercover FBI Agent Eric O’Neill saw him as a bully responsible for the death of two US spies. Were they both right? SPYSCAPE has an exclusive interview with Hanssen’s psychiatrist.
Robert Hanssen preferred to be paid in diamonds and bank deposits. Rick Ames picked up $50,000 cash in hand. John Anthony Walker even recruited his son to join his spy ring so he could spread the wealth. Who are America’s highest-paid traitors and turncoats? Meet the millionaire spies selling their secrets and souls to the highest bidder.
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The CIA is only as strong as the weakest link and in the Cold War, weak links were in ready supply. One of the most notorious spies was Aldrich Ames, aided by his wife who enjoyed the high life. Sophia Di Martino uncovers the inglorious origins of Ames' betrayal and the start of his downfall in our True Spies podcast - but don’t expect an apology. "I'm a traitor, but I don't consider myself a traitor," Ames has said.
US State Department lawyer Marta Rita Velazquez is suspected of spying for Cuba but her side of the story has never been told. Velazquez fled to Stockholm before her indictment was unsealed 10 years ago and married a Swedish Foreign Ministry official. Although she is accused of recruiting America’s ‘Most Dangerous’ female spy Ana Montes, Velazquez has never faced US justice, begging many questions, including whether she was legally wrong but morally right.
Ex-CIA case officer Robert Baer's bestseller The Fourth Man is at the center of unprecedented Spy vs. Spy bickering among Langley’s finest. A suspected KGB spy may (or may not) have infiltrated the top ranks of the CIA during the Cold War in a case that remains open even today. In his explosive book, Baer - played by George Clooney in Syriana - outlines a never-before-told story of a Russian mole hunt that divided the CIA and triggered a war of words.
Russia’s GRU decided to test the divided loyalties of a 21-year-old American who’d met his Russian fiancé while studying abroad. They invited Peter Debbins to a pleasant meal and a drink at a hotel and played spy games. Could Debbins discover the names of four nuns at the local Catholic church without raising suspicion? Would he like a code name? Before long, Debbins was calling himself a ‘son of Russia’ but was he brainwashed or a traitor?
