CIA Turncoat Aldrich Ames, Who Sold US Secrets To The Soviets, Dies In Prison At 84

The Associated Press reports that Aldrich Ames. a former CIA officer turned Soviet spy, has died in prison.

WASHINGTON (AP) — CIA turncoat Aldrich Ames, who betrayed Western intelligence assets to the Soviet Union and Russia in one of the most damaging intelligence breaches in U.S. history, has died in a Maryland prison. He was 84.

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons confirmed Ames died Monday.

Ames, a 31-year CIA veteran, admitted being paid $2.5 million by Moscow for U.S. secrets from 1985 until his arrest in 1994. His disclosures included the identities of 10 Russian officials and one Eastern European who were spying for the United States or Great Britain, along with spy satellite operations, eavesdropping and general spy procedures. His betrayals are blamed for the executions of Western agents working behind the Iron Curtain and were a major setback to the CIA during the Cold War.

He pleaded guilty without a trial to espionage and tax evasion and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Prosecutors said he deprived the United States of valuable intelligence material for years.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

Aldrich Ames, CIA officer who sold secrets to Russia, dies at 84 | AP News 

You can also read my Counterterrorism magazine Q&A with the late Sandra Grimes, the former CIA spy hunter who helped takedown Ames, via the below link:

Paul Davis On Crime: The Ames Mole Hunt: My Q & A With Sandra Grimes, Former CIA Officer, Mole Hunter, And Author Of "Circle Of Treason"