Aldrich Ames, the former CIA officer who sold U.S. secrets to the Soviet Union and Russia, died in a Maryland prison, according to a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson. The spokesperson confirmed to Associated Press that Ames died Monday. He was 84.
Ames, a 31-year CIA veteran, admitted that he was 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, as well as spy satellite operations, eavesdropping and general spy procedures.
The consequences of the case, as described by prosecutors, were severe during the Cold War. His betrayals were blamed for the executions of Western agents working behind the Iron Curtain, and were described as a major setback for the CIA.
Ames 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.
In court, Ames professed “profound shame and guilt” and called the act “this betrayal of trust, done for the basest motives,” describing his motives as money to pay debts. He also downplayed the impact of his actions, telling the court that he did not believe he had “noticeably damaged” the United States or “noticeably aided” Moscow.
Ames told the court that “These spy wars are a sideshow which have had no real impact on our significant security interests over the years.” He questioned the value that leaders of any country derived from “vast networks of human spies around the globe,” according to the reporting of his remarks.
A day earlier, in a jailhouse interview with The Washington Post, Ames said he was motivated to spy by “financial troubles, immediate and continuing.” The AP report said that interview took place the day before he was sentenced.
An FBI history described the timeline of Ames’s initial approach and continued cooperation. It said Ames worked in the Soviet/Eastern European division at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia when he first approached the KGB, then continued passing secrets to the Soviets while stationed in Rome for the CIA and after returning to Washington.
The AP report also noted that Ames’s spying coincided with that of FBI agent Robert Hanssen. Hanssen was caught in 2001 and charged with taking $1.4 million in cash and diamonds to sell secrets to Moscow, and he died in prison in 2023, the AP said.
Ames’s case also involved family criminal proceedings. The AP report said his wife, Rosario, pleaded guilty to lesser espionage charges of assisting his spying and was sentenced to 63 months in prison.