The Spy Who Crippled U.S. Intelligence: Aldrich Ames Dies in Prison
Former CIA agent Aldrich Ames leaves federal court after pleading guilty to espionage and tax evasion conspiracy charges April 28, 1994, in Alexandria, Virginia. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
Aldrich Ames, a longtime CIA officer whose betrayal exposed some of the United States’ most sensitive intelligence operations during the Cold War, has died in federal prison at the age of 84.
The Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Ames, who had been incarcerated since 1994 under a life-without-parole sentence, died Monday at a federal facility in Cumberland, Maryland.
Ames, the son of a CIA officer, spent 17 years moving through the agency before rising to a critical post in 1983 as chief of counterintelligence for the CIA’s Soviet division, according to The New York Times. In that role, he gained access to the agency’s most valuable intelligence assets—approximately a dozen deeply embedded agents inside the Soviet government and diplomatic missions, many of whom had been cultivated over decades.
In 1985, Ames approached the Soviet Embassy in Washington and offered classified information in exchange for cash, initially receiving $50,000. He later described his actions as driven by ego, greed, and alcohol abuse, dismissing the Cold War intelligence struggle as meaningless.
For nearly nine years, Ames secretly worked for Moscow, continuing even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, The Washington Post reported. He admitted to handing over the identities of nearly all Soviet agents working for the CIA and allied services, along with extensive classified material related to U.S. policy. Intelligence officials say up to 10 Soviet and Eastern Bloc agents were arrested, interrogated, and executed, while others were imprisoned or forced into exile. The damage crippled U.S. intelligence collection from Moscow and allowed Soviet counterintelligence to flood the system with disinformation.
Ames received at least $2.7 million from the KGB, yet suspicions about his unexplained wealth were slow to gain traction within the CIA. Although concerns were raised as early as 1989, a formal criminal investigation did not begin until 1993.
He pleaded guilty in 1994 to espionage and tax evasion but repeatedly downplayed the consequences of his actions, characterizing espionage as a minor element in national security and claiming he had compartmentalized his betrayal from his personal and professional obligations.
In a jailhouse interview conducted the day before his sentencing, Ames said his motivation for spying stemmed from ongoing financial problems.
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