'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
On Monday, June 5, 79-year-old former FBI agent Robert Hanssen was found dead in his cell at a federal prison in Florence, Colorado. While authorities have not yet disclosed the exact cause of death, a source told Politico that it is believed to be natural causes. Hanssen, convicted of being a Spy, had received 15 consecutive life sentences for selling US intelligence to the Russian government.
At the time of his death, Robert Hanssen was approximately 21 years into his sentence. He was incarcerated at ADX Florence, considered the most secure Maximum Security Prison in the United States. Prosecutors claimed that he received more than 1.4 million in cash, diamonds, bank funds, and luxury watches in return for selling information to the Russian government.
All there is to know about the accusations against Robert Hanssen
The Guardian reported that Robert Hanssen started his career in the FBI on January 12, 1976. Federal authorities believe that in 1979, he first approached a Soviet Central Agency to offer his services as a spy. Officials said that upon being arrested decades later, he said that he had no ideological motive behind the betrayal. Hanssen admitted that he was primarily driven by financial gain.
In 1981, after he began working at the FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC, Hanssen was provided access to classified information regarding electronic surveillance and wire-tapping. In 1984, he was transferred to an FBI counter-espionage unit that studied and captured spies for the USSR. He was also responsible for evaluating whether certain Russian spies could be trusted to act as double agents.
Robert Hanssen's cooperation with Russian spies continued, as he demanded sums of money in exchange for information. In 1985, he received $100,000 for informing the KGB about three Russian spies secretly collaborating with the FBI. In 1987, he was asked by the FBI to investigate the very information breach that he was responsible for.
The FBI and CIA collaborated on a joint investigation into American moles in 1994. Eventually, the American investigators paid a KGB agent for secret tapes of various conversations. One of the American investigators recognized a voice that matched Hanssen's. In 2000, Hanssen was promoted, a trick used by the FBI to make sure he didn't know he was being closely monitored.
CNN reported that in 2001, Robert Hanssen began suspecting that the FBI was surveilling him. On February 18 of that year, FBI agents arrested him after he left a package with sensitive information for a Russian contact in Virginia's Yellowstone Park. His arrest was announced two days later, on February 20.
ADX Florence authorities announced after Hanssen's death that the case is sensitive and that they cannot release any further details about the incident.
