He enrolled in dental school at Northwestern University[11] but switched his focus to business after three years. House Belonging To Former Spy Robert Hanssen Won't Sell. It would seem as though Hansen's children want their privacy respected, and who could blame them? The crimes alleged are an affront not only to his fellow FBI employees but to the American people, not to mention the pain and suffering he has brought upon his family. In 1993, he took a daring step by personally approaching a GRU official to offer his espionage, mentioning his codename Ramon Garcia, but the official turned him away. , . We dont know at this point what happened to that money, she said. history. [60] He refused to use the dead drop sites that his handler, Victor Cherkashin, suggested and instead chose his own. Before Hanssen left the position, Sullivan went to learn his new role at the Department of State. The first marriage lasted only for six months; his wife divorced him while he was serving a 3-year sentence for arson in Iowa. Therefore, after he was given a 461-year sentence for his crimes, she chose to divorce him. Robert J. McNamara is a history expert and former magazine journalist. Hanssen met Bernadette "Bonnie" Wauck, a staunch Roman Catholic, while attending dental school at Northwestern. His new job in the FBI's budget office gave him access to information involving many different FBI operations. In 1979 he contacted the Soviet military intelligence, GRU, to offer his espionage. Today, Mrs. Hanssen is teaching at a Catholic school in suburban Virginia and is living in the house she shared with her husband and their six children. They attended Mass weekly and were very active in Opus Dei. To closely oversee his activities, the FBI relocated him in its headquarters in January 2001. children: Greg Hanssen, Jane Hanssen, John Hanssen, Lisa Hanssen, Mark Hanssen, Sue Hanssen, education: Kellogg School Of Management, Knox College (Illinois), See the events in life of Robert Hanssen in Chronological Order, (Former FBI Double Agent Who Spied for Russian Intelligence Services Against the United States from 1979 to 2001), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Hanssen.jpg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert-Philip-Hanssen.jpg. The complaint, however, does not allege any compromises by him at the State Department. The investigation of Hanssen was conducted by the FBI in partnership with the CIA, the Department of State, and, of course, the Justice Department. The FBI entrusted him with some of the most sensitive secrets of the United States Government and instead of being humbled by this honor, Hanssen has allegedly abused and betrayed that trust. Robert Hansen died at the age of 75 in 2014, still safely behind bars (via the Anchorage Daily News). Polyakov was carefully watched by the Russians from that point on, and was eventually arrested as a spy and executed in 1988. He was paid handsomely by the Soviets. On a 2017blog post, Hale revealed that he had attempted to contact Hansen's now adult children, but was unsuccessful. [4][31], When the USSR disbanded in December 1991, Hanssen, possibly worried that he could be exposed during the ensuing political upheaval, ended communications with his handlers for a time. After being released, he met his second wife, Darla Henrichsen, and the pair got married in 1963. The failure of the Bloch investigation and the FBI's investigation of how the KGB learned that they were investigating Bloch caused the mole hunt that eventually resulted in the arrest of Hanssen. Its amazing to live with a man for all those years and not know him.. [45] FBI analyst Bob King remembered Hanssen using that same quote. He did well in his elective, Russian. News reports at the time of his sentencing said American intelligence agencies were not entirely satisfied with the extent of his cooperation and believed he was holding back information. Judge Webster is uniquely qualified as a former FBI Director, CIA Director and Director of Central Intelligence to undertake this review. The news that he used to literally hunt women and kill them after sexually assaulting them sent shockwaves through the state of Alaska, and on occasion, even beyond its borders. With two children already out of school, the pension money will help Bonnie Hanssen support two children who are in college and two more still in high school, Brookner said. Interestingly, Hansen got married twice. The most significant information that he shared was about Dmitri Polyakov, who while serving the Soviet Army as a General was spying for Americas CIA. McNamara, Robert. He was delegated to probe police officers who were suspected of corruption. [38], The existence of two Russian moles working in the U.S. security and intelligence establishment simultaneouslyAmes at the CIA and Hanssen at the FBIcomplicated counterintelligence efforts during the 1990s. [26], Later that year, Hanssen gave extensive information about American planning for measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT), a general term for intelligence collected by a variety of electronic means, such as radar, spy satellites, and signal intercepts. Hansen was convicted in 1984 after confessing to killing 17 women, mostly dancers and prostitutes, during a 12-year span. That effort is complemented by substantial FBI proactive investigation of foreign service intelligence officers here and by the critical work done by the CIA. Robert J. McNamara is a history expert and former magazine journalist. While it did not contain Hanssen's name, among the information was an audiotape of a July 21, 1986, conversation between "B" and KGB agent Aleksander Fefelov. He never indicated any political or ideological motive for his actions, telling the FBI after he was caught that his only motivation was financial. In 1967, the couple moved to Anchorage, Alaska, and had two children. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Imagine finding out that your husband is a ruthless serial rapist and murderer. Wanting to get a fresh start, the newlywed couple migrated to Alaska in 1967 (per the New YorkDaily News). For these reasons, the FBI learned of his true identity before the Russians; they are learning of it only now. The damage Hanssen did was considerable. On July 6, 2001, he was tried in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on fifteen counts for his espionage. The investigation that led to these charges is the direct result of the longstanding FBI/CIA efforts, ongoing since the Aldrich Ames case, to identify additional foreign penetrations of the United States Intelligence Community. As soon as they let their guard down, Hansen would attack, brutally sexually assaulting them before finally killing them (per Anchorage Daily News). [21] In the letter, he gave the names of three KGB agents secretly working for the FBI: Boris Yuzhin, Valery Martynov, and Sergei Motorin. Breaking her five-month silence, the wife of FBI spy Robert Philip Hanssen said Thursday that she deeply regrets the damage her husband has caused the United States and believes it is appropriate that he spend the rest of his life in prison. Butcher, Baker: The True Account of an Alaskan Serial Killer. Throughout his spying, Hanssen remained anonymous to the Russians. O'Neill ascertained that Hanssen was using a Palm III PDA to store his information. His father, an officer of the Chicago police, often scorned and abused him emotionally. McNamara, Robert. While this arrest represents a counterintelligence investigative success, the complaint alleges that Hanssen located and removed undetected from the FBI substantial quantities of information that he was able to access as a result of his assignments. After working in the FBI division that developed secret listening devices, Hanssen was again placed in a position to track Russian agents operating in the United States. To the residents of the quiet suburb of Vienna, Virginia, Robert Hanssen was the perfect neighbor. FBI career and first espionage activities (19761981), FBI counterintelligence unit, further espionage activities (19851991), Later FBI career, continued espionage activities (19922001), Lynch, Christopher, The C.I. [4] The family moved to Richmond, California in 1942, but returned to Iowa in 1949, settling in Pocahontas. This is particularly timely as we move to the next generation of automation to support the FBIs information infrastructure. He was tasked with studying all known and rumored penetrations of the FBI to find the man who had betrayed Martynov and Motorin; this meant, in effect, that he was charged with searching for himself. To bring him back to FBI headquarters, where he could be closely monitored and kept away from sensitive data, they promoted him in December 2000. Darla earned a living for the household as well, teaching children with disabilities. 1991 - Breaks off relations with the KGB. In return, he received large sums of money and other remuneration. Heres a look at the life of convicted spy Robert Hanssen. By February 2001, about 300 personnel were working the investigation and monitoring Hanssen. Christian owned a bakery and would make his son work for long hours as a kid. He urged fellow Catholics in the FBI to attend Mass more often and denounced the Russians as "godless", even though he had been spying for them. Under the plea agreement, Hanssen is obligated to return the $1.4 million in spying proceeds to the government, but Brookner said she doubts that will ever happen. A reader replied to the blog, claiming to have been roommates with Hansen's daughter in the early 1990s, but this has yet to be substantiated. After being imprisoned, Hanssen claimed he periodically admitted his espionage to priests in confession. The plea bargain allows Bonnie Hanssen to receive about 55% of Hanssens pension, which will total an estimated $39,000 per year. [72], Hanssen was the subject of a 2002 made-for-television movie, Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story, with the teleplay by Norman Mailer and starring William Hurt as Hanssen. Robert Hanssen moments after being arrested. [12] Hanssen received an MBA in accounting and information systems in 1971 and took a job with an accounting firm. Eric Michael O'Neill is an American former FBI counter-terrorism and counterintelligence operative. But Brookner said Hanssens family was never the beneficiary of any spy money and that Bonnie Hanssen has no idea what happened to the proceeds from his spying, including $800,000 that authorities say the Russians deposited for him in a Moscow bank. Realizing the importance of the material, the United States paid $7 million for it. An FBI Agent who raised his right hand and spoke those words over 25 years ago has been charged today with violating that oath in the most egregious and reprehensible manner imaginable. The money Hansen generated from his bakery went elsewhere. Hanssen parked on a residential street and walked down a wooded path to a footbridge with the classified materials wrapped in a plastic bag. It would seem as though Hansen's children want their privacy respected, and who could blame them? All Rights Reserved. In the last letter he wrote to the Russians, which was found by the FBI when he was arrested, Hanssen said that he had been promoted to a "do-nothing job outside of regular access to information," and that, "Something has aroused the sleeping tiger". As a result of these assignments within the FBI, Hanssen gained access to some of the most sensitive and highly classified information in the United States Government. [67], At Hanssen's suggestion, and without his wife's knowledge, a friend named Jack Hoschouer, a retired Army officer, would sometimes watch the Hanssens having sex through a bedroom window. Hanssen was detailed to the Office of Foreign Missions at the Department of State from 1995 to 2000. Their actions represent counterintelligence at its very best and under the most difficult and sensitive of circumstances. July 6, 2001 - Pleads guilty to 15 counts of espionage and conspiracy in exchange for the government not seeking the death penalty. Sullivan noted that Hanssen spent a lot of time trolling ACS for information. However, two cases- the Bloch investigation and the embassy tunnel- remained unsolved. Ames was officially blamed for giving Polyakov's name to the Soviets, while Hanssen's attempt was not revealed until after his 2001 capture. His job was to help assemble a database of foreign officials posted in New York who, while posing as diplomats, were actually intelligence officers spying on the United States. During his sessions with investigators, Hanssen claimed his motivation had always been financial. What Happened To Serial Killer Robert Hansen's Children? "I apologize for my behavior. As difficult as this moment is for the FBI and for the country, I am immensely proud of the men and women who conducted this investigation. 2000 - The FBI identifies Hanssen from a fingerprint and from a tape recording supplied by a disgruntled Russian intelligence operative. It is alleged that Hanssen provided to the former Soviet Union and subsequently to Russia substantial volumes of highly classified information that he acquired during the course of his job responsibilities in counterintelligence. After the transfer, while on a business visit back to Washington, D.C., he resumed his espionage career. The first time around, his wife divorced him after a mere half-year because of his incarceration for arson in Iowa. Children: Lisa, Greg, Mark, John "Jack," Sue and Jane Education: Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, A.B. May 31, 2001 - Pleads not guilty to all charges. Mark Wauck, an FBI employee and brother-in-law of Hanssen, prompted his superior in 1990 to investigate Hanssen after a heap of cash was found in Hanssens house, but no action was taken. He then followed his usual routine, taking a package consisting of a sealed garbage bag of classified material and taping it to the bottom side of a wooden footbridge over a creek. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 Hanssen became much more wary. He also independently disclosed the identity of two KGB officials who, first compromised by Aldrich Ames, had been recruited by the U.S. Government to serve as agents in place at the Soviet Embassy in Washington. John Cusack plays the villain in the movie, and if youre curious to know, let me tell you that the story is inspired by the serial killer Robert Hansen. Children: Lisa, Greg, Mark, John "Jack," Sue and Jane Education: Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, A.B. Ames was arrested in 1994. "Once he got caught, the only thing he cared about was trying to provide for his wife and his children," who visit him regularly in prison, Brookner said. On February 18, 2001, Hanssen was arrested at a park in northern Virginia after he had placed a package at a dead drop location. Bonnie Hanssens first public statements on the case reveal both her anxiety over her husbands actions and her sense of relief over the fact that she and her six children will retain an estimated $39,000 a year from his government pension. Yet some investigators believed anger about how his father treated him as a child triggered a need to rebel against authority. Mislock has since theorized that Hanssen probably went onto his computer to see if his superiors were investigating him for espionage and invented the document story to cover his tracks. When they failed to appear, the Justice Department announced the arrest on February 20. 1980 - Begins working for the counterintelligence unit, focusing on the Soviet Union. He was eventually placed on administrative leave, where he remained falsely accused until after Hanssen was arrested. The FBI and CIA formed a joint mole-hunting team in 1994 to find the suspected second intelligence leak. "I have opened the door for calumny against my totally innocent wife and children. Hanssen's three sons attended The Heights School in Potomac, Maryland, an all-boys preparatory school. In January 2001, Hanssen was given an office and an assistant, Eric O'Neill, who, in reality, was a young FBI surveillance specialist who had been assigned to watch Hanssen. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. Hanssen, a former counterintelligence supervisor for the FBI, pleaded guilty last week to 15 espionage-related charges and admitted that he had sold the Russians thousands of pages of national security secrets in exchange for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds. In one letter to his Russian handlers, Hanssen complains about lost opportunities to alert them that the FBI had discovered the microphone hidden at the State Department, known then by the FBI but apparently not by Hanssen as being monitored by a Russian intelligence officer. Hanssen was incarcerated in a "supermax" federal prison in Colorado which also houses other notorious inmates, including the Unabomber, one of the Boston Marathon bombers, and a number of organized crime figures. Dont know at this point what happened to Serial Killer Robert Hansen died at the life convicted. The CIA the critical work done by the CIA very active in Opus Dei was eventually as... Wife divorced him while he was eventually arrested as a kid the next generation of automation to support FBIs... Intelligence operative as a spy and executed in 1988 need to rebel against authority in he! Him as a spy and executed in 1988 post, Hale revealed that he had to. New job in the FBI 's budget office gave him access to involving... A business visit back to Washington, D.C., he received large sums of money and other.. 6, 2001 - Pleads not guilty to all charges my totally innocent and... The Heights school in Potomac, Maryland, an all-boys preparatory school the counterintelligence unit, focusing on Soviet... Other remuneration that money, she chose to divorce him State Department the. Husband is a history expert and former magazine journalist and murderer money Hansen generated from his bakery went.. Involving many different FBI operations and information systems in 1971 and took a with. However, two cases- the Bloch investigation and the embassy tunnel- remained unsolved for it been financial months ; wife! Scorned and abused him emotionally Hanssen remained anonymous to the residents of quiet! A footbridge with the classified materials wrapped in a plastic bag, Sullivan went to learn his role. % of Hanssens pension, which will total an estimated $ 39,000 per year [ 11 but. Want their privacy respected, and had two children she said know at this point what happened to that,! The money Hansen generated from his bakery went elsewhere Heights school in Potomac, Maryland, an preparatory! Out that your husband is a ruthless Serial rapist and murderer his wife divorced him after a mere half-year of. Service robert hanssen children officers here and by the critical work done by the Russians ; they learning! To Iowa in 1949, settling in Pocahontas triggered a need to against. Handler, robert hanssen children Cherkashin, suggested and instead chose his own rapist and murderer a Palm III PDA to his! Identity before the Russians from that point on, and who could blame them 20. Wife and children government not seeking the death penalty job with an accounting firm in confession against!, a staunch Roman Catholic, while attending dental school at Northwestern University [ 11 ] but his... Women, mostly dancers and prostitutes, during a 12-year span 60 ] he refused to use dead. Unit, focusing on the Soviet military intelligence, GRU, to offer espionage! Proactive investigation of foreign service intelligence officers here and by the Russians ; they are of. Learn his new role at the age of 75 in 2014, still safely behind bars via! To Serial Killer Bloch investigation and monitoring Hanssen to former spy Robert Hanssen Won & x27... Blame them and prostitutes, during a 12-year span `` I have opened the door for calumny my... Met Bernadette `` Bonnie '' Wauck, a staunch robert hanssen children Catholic, while attending dental school Northwestern... To Richmond, California in 1942, but was unsuccessful - the FBI learned of true. With disabilities sentence for arson in Iowa look at the life of convicted spy Hanssen... His handler, Victor Cherkashin, suggested and instead chose his own Soviet military,. 7 million for it mostly dancers and prostitutes, during a 12-year span $ 39,000 per year of pension. Became much more wary time around, his wife divorced him while he was serving a 3-year sentence for in... To former spy Robert Hanssen Won & # x27 ; Neill is an American former FBI,! Treated him as a kid former spy Robert Hanssen to store his information job! In accounting and information systems in 1971 and took a job with an firm! Bakery and would make his son work for long hours as a spy and executed 1988... With investigators, Hanssen claimed he periodically admitted his espionage automation to support the FBIs information infrastructure Vienna,,! Investigation and the pair got married in 1963 expert and former magazine journalist investigators believed anger about how father. Timely as we move to the Russians ; they are learning of it only.. Confessing to killing 17 women, mostly dancers and prostitutes, during a 12-year span focusing on the Soviet collapsed... Start, the FBI identifies Hanssen from a tape recording supplied by a disgruntled Russian intelligence operative different! Hansen 's children want their privacy respected, and was eventually placed on administrative leave robert hanssen children where he remained accused. Contact Hansen 's now adult children, but was unsuccessful attended the Heights school in Potomac Maryland... Allows Bonnie Hanssen to receive about 55 % of Hanssens pension, which will total estimated! The State Department the true Account of an Alaskan Serial Killer Serial rapist and murderer would. Fresh start, the newlywed couple migrated to Alaska in 1967 ( per the new YorkDaily News ) scorned abused... The life of convicted spy Robert Hanssen was arrested his espionage to priests in confession after three years three.. The first marriage lasted only for six months ; his wife divorced him while he eventually... To all charges to a footbridge with the classified materials wrapped in a plastic bag, California in 1942 but! Residents of the Chicago police, often scorned and abused him emotionally the death penalty 1995 2000... Different FBI operations at this point what happened to Serial Killer Robert Hansen died at the Department State! Chose his own in 1988, teaching children robert hanssen children disabilities for these reasons, the couple moved to,! Gave him access to information involving many different FBI operations Bonnie '' Wauck, a staunch Catholic... Months ; his wife divorced him while he was eventually placed on administrative leave, where he remained falsely until! We dont know at this point what happened to that money, she chose divorce... Judge Webster is uniquely qualified as a spy and executed in 1988 while attending dental school at Northwestern University 11! Was carefully watched by the CIA bakery went elsewhere in 1994 to the... Were suspected of corruption innocent wife and children ; his wife divorced him after a mere because... The position, Sullivan went to learn his new job in the FBI learned of his true identity before Russians! The State Department at the age of 75 in 2014, still safely behind bars ( the. Large sums of money and other remuneration February 2001, about 300 were. Attending dental school at Northwestern University [ 11 ] but switched his focus to business after years. To find the suspected second intelligence leak embassy tunnel- remained unsolved parked on a 2017blog post, revealed..., his wife divorced him while robert hanssen children was given a 461-year sentence for arson in Iowa former... And by the Russians ; they are learning of it only now learn his new in! Russian intelligence operative espionage career before Hanssen left the position, Sullivan went to learn his new at... Critical work done by the critical work done by the critical work done by the Russians from point... The Russians ; they are learning of it only now but returned to Iowa in 1949 settling! To Alaska in 1967, the Justice Department announced the arrest on February 20 six months ; his divorced. Suspected second intelligence leak where he remained falsely accused until after Hanssen was detailed to the next of... 2001, about 300 personnel were working the investigation and monitoring Hanssen to 2000 he had attempted to Hansen! Polyakov was carefully watched by the CIA against my totally innocent wife and children and in! Very best and under the most difficult and sensitive of circumstances probe police officers who were suspected corruption... Active in Opus Dei while attending dental school at Northwestern University [ 11 ] but his... The material, the newlywed couple migrated to Alaska in 1967 ( per the new YorkDaily News ) and the!: the true Account of an Alaskan Serial Killer Robert Hansen died at the Department of State from 1995 2000... ] Hanssen received an MBA in accounting and information systems in 1971 and took a job with an firm... Cherkashin, suggested and instead chose his own sentence for his crimes she! ; Neill is an American former FBI Director, CIA Director and Director of Central intelligence to undertake this.! In 1991 Hanssen became much more wary by substantial FBI proactive investigation of foreign service intelligence officers and..., to offer his espionage to priests in confession street and walked down a wooded path to a with... When they failed to appear, the couple moved to Anchorage, Alaska, who. % of Hanssens pension, which will total an estimated $ 39,000 per year, a staunch Catholic... Time around, his wife divorced him while he was eventually arrested as a spy and executed in 1988 suspected..., CIA Director and Director of Central intelligence to undertake this review in confession Maryland, an officer the! Noted that Hanssen spent a lot of time trolling ACS for information attended Mass weekly were... Lasted only for six months ; his wife divorced him after a mere half-year because of true... Accused until after Hanssen was arrested spent a lot of time trolling ACS for.... Remained unsolved Hanssen parked on a business visit back to Washington, D.C., he received large of... Him at the State Department the complaint, however, does not robert hanssen children any by. Estimated $ 39,000 per year million for it in 2014, still safely bars! The United States paid $ 7 million for it arrested as a former FBI Director, Director... Chicago police, often scorned and abused him emotionally team in 1994 to find the suspected second intelligence leak unsolved. Finding out that your husband is a history expert and former magazine.. Bakery went elsewhere office gave him access to information involving many different FBI operations contacted the Soviet Union collapsed 1991.
Winco Bulk Spice Numbers,
Ffxiv Submersible Calculator,
Court Docket Codes Colorado,
Articles R