Convicted FBI double agent Robert Hanssen, who spied for Russia, found dead in prison cell
6 June 2023, 08:15
One of the FBI's most notorious double agents has been found dead in his prison cell.
Robert Hanssen was sentenced to life behind bars in 2002 after pleading guilty to spying for Russia for more than two decades.
Hanssen - who used the alias 'Ramon Garcia' when speaking with his Soviet handlers - started disclosing sensitive American intelligence in the mid 1980s.
He is believed to have been partially responsible for the death of three Soviet Union officers who had been working for American intelligence.
They were executive after being exposed to Soviet authorities.
Hanssen, 79, was found dead in his cell in Florence, Colarado, on Monday. He is believed to have died of natural causes.
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Hanssen was handed nearly $1.5million in cash for his intelligence services, which included telling Soviet officials how the US gathered intelligence on the Union in the 1980s.
Despite being paid a vast amount of money, the double agent remained in his suburban home in Virginia with his six children.
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In order to catch their rogue agent, the FBI handed Hanssen a fake assignment.
This involved Hanssen being placed in a new office with hidden cameras and microphones at the FBI's headquarters.
In February 2001, Hanssen, operating under his alias, was due to make a 'dead drop' at a park - which involves leaving information for another person to pick up later on.
Hanssen was arrested by the FBI at the scene after he showed up with a plastic bag filled with American intelligence.
During his arrest, he asked his colleagues: "What took you so long?"
He pleaded guilty to 15 counts of espionage and was sentenced to life in prison in May 2002.
