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Aldrich Ames, Notorious CIA Mole Who Spied for Moscow, Dies at 84

His case is remembered as one of the most damaging breaches of U.S. intelligence, after he exposed Soviet assets from inside the CIA.

Overview

  • He died in the federal prison in Cumberland, Maryland, where he was serving a life sentence for espionage.
  • Facing heavy debts and alcoholism, he began spying in 1985 by selling the identities of KGB officials secretly aiding the United States for $50,000.
  • A federal investigation intensified after agents noticed his lavish spending, leading to his arrest on February 21, 1994.
  • Intelligence assessments credit his betrayal with compromising more than 100 CIA operations and causing the deaths of at least ten clandestine collaborators.
  • He cooperated after his arrest and received life in prison, while his wife, Maria del Rosario Casas Dupuy, was sentenced to five years.