Overview
- U.S. authorities confirmed that Ames died in federal custody on Monday at age 84.
- Ames was convicted in 1994 and sentenced to life in prison for selling secrets to the Soviet Union and later Russia.
- Prosecutors said he began passing classified information in 1985, receiving more than $2.5 million with help from his wife, Rosario.
- Ames claimed he exposed all U.S. assets he knew in the USSR, with about 30 unmasked and ten executed reported.
- Investigators cited his lavish spending, including Swiss accounts, a Jaguar, and steep credit-card bills, as key clues that led to his capture, and the scandal contributed to CIA Director James Woolsey’s resignation and strained U.S.-Russia relations.