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Justice Department Arrests Ten on Charges of Spying for Russia

1 year ago
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Federal agents have cracked a Russian spy operation with shades of the Cold War, arresting ten people accused of serving as undercover agents in the United States, the Justice Department announced Monday. Details are still emerging about the suspects, who were suburban residents of several American cities whose friends were shocked to learn they were involved in an espionage plot.

The arrests occurred Sunday in the New York City and Washington, D.C., areas and in Boston following an FBI investigation that lasted for years, the Department of Justice said in a press release. The ten men and women, most going by phony names, allegedly carried out "long-term, 'deep-cover' assignments." One suspect was still being sought.

The investigation spanned back into the Clinton administration and involved video surveillance, hidden microphones and fake cash drops. According to the Washington Post, It climaxed on Saturday with a fake drop in a park in Arlington County, when one of the suspects left $5,000 inside a folded newspaper that was picked up by an FBI agent.

According to the DOJ:
In total, 11 defendants, including the 10 arrested, are charged in two separate criminal complaints with conspiring to act as unlawful agents of the Russian Federation within the United States. Federal law prohibits individuals from acting as agents of foreign governments within the United States without prior notification to the U.S. Attorney General. Nine of the defendants are also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The Russian foreign ministry responded Tuesday, saying the arrests were "completely unfounded and serve unseemly goals." The ministry said the investigation was "in the spirit of Cold War spy mania."

Prosecutors said the defendants were ordered to become "Americanized" and form relationships with people in power in the United States. The operation, which the investigators referred to as "the Illegals," encouraged the suspects to settle into unsuspicious lives and develop connections in circles with knowledge of and influence over Washington policy.

Investigators intercepted a message from Russian intelligence officers in Moscow to two of the defendants:
"You were sent to USA for long-term service trip. Your education, bank accounts, car, house, etc. - all these serve one goal: fulfill your main mission, i.e to search and develop ties in policymaking circles in US and send intels."
The money-laundering charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. The conspiracy charge could lead to a maximum sentence of five years behind bars.
Filed Under: Investigations

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5 Comments

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dcpeck50

Let's see: We've already GIVEN most of our secrets to the China Communists so exactly what could the Russians want? How to best take over the auto industry, banks, health care, housing. Nope we stold those secrets from them!!! How about
capitalism, freedom of the press, right to bear arms? Yeah, those do make better
countries... Maybe we can all go to a free Russia some day...how ironic.

June 29 2010 at 6:29 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Loren

You know what, the whole story sounds fishy. One news cast said that these people did not even attempt to get jobs that required a back ground check. Excuse me? I believe if you want to infiltrate the governmwnt or their contractors you have to go through a back ground check. Plus what is there to spy on. If you want to know anything all you need to do is google it. Some idiot in the government has most likely put it on the internet. What stupidity.

June 29 2010 at 5:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
hairhofla

Why wasn't Orly Taitz arrested?

June 29 2010 at 3:13 PM Report abuse +4 rate up rate down Reply
christierandall

if you think there are no spies in America....then I have a bridge to sell you...
America is a major target for a lot of other countries...they want to either destroy us or they want what we have.
How long were those men who belonged to Al Quada here training to fly our planes and planning how and when to do what they were going to do...they too were also told to blend in.

The FBI and the CIA have intercepted many messages that were passed on to
the president...such as the one that the CIA warned Bush about that Bin Laden
was planning an attack on american soil. I suppose you think that never happened also.

June 28 2010 at 10:11 PM Report abuse +5 rate up rate down Reply
LifeGuard

I don't believe one word of this. The message is so phony as to be believable. No spy organization would send such a message in the "open" as we are told they did. No long term agent would need to be told why they are here and how to go about their business of spying. This is the stuff of fiction, and I suspect we are being lead further from the truth about these arrests. We had to be told something because there were arrests, for some reason, and no one wants to disclose the real deal. If you "buy" their story...you can be sold anything. Think about it.

June 28 2010 at 8:30 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to LifeGuard's comment
Tom

The message sounds like what would be a typical morale boosting type of message sent on a long term assignment. There is not statement in the article that the message was sent "in the open" as you suggest. Would suggest a careful re-reading and logical thought.

June 28 2010 at 9:27 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply

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