American Scandal - FBI Agent Turned Russian Spy | Playactor | 3

Episode Date: April 16, 2024

By the 1990s, Robert Hanssen has been spying on and off for more than a decade. After the fall of the Soviet Union, he decides to break off contact with his Russian handlers. But his urge to spy is too great, and soon he revives his alter ego “Ramon” — unaware that a former KGB agent has just given the FBI a huge break in their effort to finally track him down.  Need more American Scandal? With Wondery+, enjoy exclusive seasons, binge new seasons first, and listen completely ad-free. Start your free trial in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or visit wondery.app.link/IM5aogASNNb now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi, this is Lindsey Graham, host of American Scandal. Our back catalog has moved behind a paywall. Recent episodes remain free, but older ones will require a Wondery Plus subscription. With Wondery Plus, you get access to the full American Scandal archive, ad-free, plus early access to new seasons and more. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. This episode contains racially offensive language and references to sexual abuse and may not be suitable for all listeners. It's a frigid afternoon in December 1991.

It's a frigid afternoon in December 1991. FBI agent Robert Hansen parks his car outside of an old Catholic church in Indianapolis and begins bundling himself up preparing to face the cold. Hansen came to Indianapolis on official FBI business to inspect a local field office and make sure their security protocols were up to the agency's exacting standards. But this afternoon's errand is entirely personal. Hansen is a devoutly religious man and a member of the small, ultra-conservative Catholic sect known as Opus Dei. So he's here at this church today to meet with a priest and confess his sins,

which are numerous. Hansen began selling top-secret documents to the Soviet Union more than a decade ago, in 1979. And over the last six years, he's supplied the KGB with a treasure trove of secrets. He's shared documents about NASA spy satellites and the United States' contingency plans for nuclear war. He's also revealed the names of a number of KGB double agents who have been secretly working with American intelligence.

Several of those men have since been called back to Moscow and executed. In return for divulging these secrets, the Soviets have given Hansen close to a half million dollars in cash and diamonds. But things have recently taken a bad turn for Hansen's friends in the KGB. The Soviet Union is collapsing, and Moscow is in chaos. Nobody knows what the future holds for the KGB, but it doesn't look good. So a stream of Soviet agents have begun rushing into the arms of U.S. intelligence, hoping to trade old secrets for money and a new life in America. Hansen knows that any day now, one of those agents could reveal his identity as a mole, which terrifies him. He can't stop thinking about being led away in handcuffs,

sent off to a maximum security prison, or even given the death penalty. So before any of that happens, Hansen wants to get right with God. He steps out of his car and makes his way to the doors of the church. Inside the sanctuary, Hansen removes his black fedora and leather gloves. He kneels and makes a sign of the cross and heads to the confession booth. Hansen slips inside the small wooden booth and pulls the red velvet curtain closed behind him. In the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, may the Lord be in your heart and help you confess your sins with true sorrow. Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. I have betrayed my country and my family. I have

sold government documents to the Russians. I knew I was breaking the law, and I promised my wife I wouldn't do it, but I did it anyway. I understand. So why did you do this? I started because I needed money. I have six kids, and my job doesn't pay enough. I wanted to show that I could be a good provider and give my family the life they deserve. But I know that's not an excuse. Money can be a powerful temptation, especially for a family man. But greed is a sin. You should have faith that God will provide what you need. I know you're right, Father, and I do have faith. But even after I had enough money, I just kept doing it. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. There's something rotten

inside of me, something that compels me to keep doing these things. And now I'm terrified that I'm going to be caught and I'll lose my family. I cannot say if or when you will face the government's justice, but I do know that God's judgment is always certain. You've taken the first step by confessing these sins, and you can be forgiven. Will you vow to never commit this sin again? Yes, Father. And are you prepared to make penance? I am. The priest gives Hansen several prayers to recite and absolves him of his sins. Hansen exits the booth, feeling like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. He's back on the right track and determined to be a better man. But in the back of his mind, he knows his compulsion to spy runs deep. He hopes he's

strong enough to kick the habit for good, and that the FBI never uncovers the grave sins he's already committed. In the past decade, Boeing has been involved in a series of scandals and deadly crashes that have dented its once sterling reputation. At the center of it all, the 737 MAX, the latest season of Business Wars, explores how Boeing allowed things to turn deadly and what, if anything, can save the company's reputation. Make sure to listen to Business Wars wherever you get your podcasts. From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American Scandal. Shortly after FBI agent Robert Hansen began selling secrets to the Soviets in 1979, U.S. intelligence realized there was a mole in their midst. The FBI and CIA both quickly responded,

launching their own separate investigations into the source of the leaks. But these parallel efforts were flawed from the beginning. The two agencies had long been distrustful of each other and were reluctant to share information. So while Hansen continued to sell top-secret information under the codename Ramon, the FBI and CIA spent years chasing their tails. Frustrated by their lack of progress, the two agencies finally agreed to join forces in 1991 under a new collaborative effort dubbed Operation Skylight. But even this revamped investigation had a significant blind spot. Skylight was operating under the assumption that the mole was working within the CIA. But over time, some in the FBI began to suspect that the mole was actually one of their own. So while continuing to assist Skylight, the FBI's Soviet

section chief decided to launch another investigation, Operation Play Actor, to look within the Bureau itself. This is Episode 3, Play Actor. It's early 1992 at the FBI field office in Washington, D.C. Agent Tim Caruso is standing in the center of a large corner office, staring at several sheets of white butcher paper he's tacked to the wall. Caruso is the chief of analysis for the FBI's counterintelligence section. He's been working to thwart Soviet operations on American soil for nearly a decade, and has a reputation for approaching his work with urgency and intensity. That's why he's been chosen to spearhead Operation Playactor, a new top-secret investigation. While Caruso's colleagues are busy hunting for a Russian mole presumed to be in the CIA, Playactor's objective is to determine if the mole is actually hiding

within the FBI itself. So for the past several weeks, Caruso has been piecing together a timeline of every blown operation and exposed double agent over multiple decades. He's also been compiling a list of every FBI employee who could have had access to information about any of these compromised activities. As far as Caruso is concerned, every one of these names has to be considered a potential suspect. But it's an immense amount of data, much more than any one person could hold in their head. So Caruso decided to lay it out visually in one enormous timeline he calls the Matrix. And as Caruso inspects his work, he realizes it looks a bit like a child's art project. Between the butcher paper he's tacked to the walls and the little arrows he's drawn connecting names with dates and photos, it could be easy to dismiss the Matrix as crude and

unsophisticated. But Caruso is hoping that anyone with a keen eye will realize the Matrix is a map that should lead them straight to the mole. Caruso hears a knock on the door. He opens it to find his boss, Ray Mislok, chief of the FBI's Soviet section. Caruso quickly pulls Mislok inside and locks the door behind them, because the mole may be working in this very building, and their work must remain absolutely top secret. But immediately, Caruso can see that Mislok is taken aback and confused by what he's seeing. The Matrix is enormous and almost incomprehensible at first glance. So Caruso begins explaining quickly, desperate to reassure Mislak that he has it all under control.

Caruso walks his boss around the room, explaining how the system works and pointing out key sections of it. But Caruso consents that Mislak is still overwhelmed by it all, so he draws his boss' attention to only one section, hoping to make the matrix seem less daunting. Caruso directs Mislak to a portion of the timeline covering the mid-1980s, when a series of Soviet double agents were recalled to Moscow and executed. He shows how the red strings from that event branch out and connect to various FBI employees, all who had access to the relevant information. Caruso watches nervously as Mislok runs his fingers along the strings, trying to take it in.

And finally, Mislok takes a few steps back into the center of the room and scowls at the wall in silence for what feels like an eternity. Then, just when Caruso is bracing himself for a harsh critique, Mislok gives him a hearty slap on the back. Mislok tells Caruso that the Matrix looks great and encourages him to keep going, because if there really is a mole in the FBI, Ms. Locke tells Caruso that the Matrix looks great and encourages him to keep going, because if there really is a mole in the FBI, Ms. Locke agrees that this gives him a real shot at finding him. By the end of 1992, Robert Hansen feels like the walls are closing in on him.

Ever since his confession to the priest in Indianapolis, he's been trying to live a more honest life. He's stopped selling secrets to the KGB and broken off his relationship with Priscilla Sue Gailey, the stripper he began seeing two years earlier. But still, he lives in constant worry that his past could catch up with him. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, more and more former KGB agents have begun working with the Americans, divulging long-buried secrets about the inner workings of the Russian spy agency. And Hansen knows that any number of those agents could reveal his identity. So he begins using his access to FBI databases

to search for keywords associated with his illegal activities, including the names of his former handlers and addresses of drop sites he's used. But as Hansen's stress builds, it begins to bubble over at work. In February of 1993, he has a violent altercation with a female intelligence analyst in the office. During this argument, Hansen knocks the woman to the floor, then drags her down a hallway as she screams for him to stop. This incident leaves her bruised and shaken, and she requests a transfer out of the office and later files a lawsuit against Hansen, seeking more than

$1 million in damages. But the government goes to bat for Hansen, arguing that the fight occurred in the course of Hansen's official duties, and eventually the lawsuit is dropped, and Hansen's punishment is a one-week suspension. But Hansen's anxiety only continues to grow, and as it does, old demons begin to surface, fueling his compulsive need to spy once again. And on one day in July 1993, he makes a bizarre and risky attempt to re-establish contact with the Russians. Early that morning, an officer with Russia's military intelligence service, the GRU, leaves his Washington, D.C. apartment and walks to the parking garage to get his car. He's late for his job at the Russian embassy and walking briskly through the humid morning air.

But as he makes his way through the garage, a tall, middle-aged man suddenly steps out from between two parked cars and approaches. The GRU officer doesn't recognize the man, so keeps walking. But the stranger begins following him. As a veteran spy, the officer is used to being tailed by American counterintelligence agencies. But he's shocked how brazen this man seems to be. So the officer stops and turns back, looking the man up and down. He's wearing a cheap blue suit and has dark, beady eyes.

He's also carrying a manila folder in his left hand. The GRU officer grips the pepper spray in his pocket and calls out to the strange man. Can I help you, sir? Do I know you? No, I don't believe we've met, but I'm certain you know my name. It's Garcia. Ramon Garcia. I'm afraid that doesn't ring a bell. Well, I used to work with some of your colleagues years ago. At the embassy?

No, at the GRU and the KGB. I just wanted to have a chat. The man steps closer, but the officer holds up his hand. Why don't you just stay right there and tell me what this is all about? Don't worry, I come in peace. I work for the FBI. And I just wanted to give you this file as a token of my goodwill. I think your government will be very interested in what's inside,

and I'm hoping we can rekindle our mutually beneficial relationship. The officer looks at the strange man, baffled. If this is supposed to be some kind of FBI sting operation, it's the most inept one he's ever seen. He shakes his head. I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about, and I certainly won't accept any files from you. The officer starts backing away toward his car, and a look of panic flashes across the strange man's face before he quickly conceals it with a forced, awkward-looking grin.

Ah, well, I completely understand. You need to be careful. I get it. But look, you don't have to take the file. Just be sure to tell your bosses that Ramon is back in business. The officer ducks into his car and appeals out of the parking lot. Looking back in his rearview mirror, he sees Ramon still standing there, looking dumbfounded. The officer takes note of Ramon's face and clothes, committing them to memory so he can include them in the very detailed complaint he's planning to file with the U.S. State Department. As far as he's concerned, this was an obvious attempt by the FBI to entrap him, and it violated every diplomatic rule in the book. So he's going to

make sure that whomever this Ramon Garcia is, he's identified and punished. He was hip-hop's biggest mogul, the man who redefined fame, fortune, and the music industry. Diddy built an empire and lived a life most people only dream about. Everybody know ain't no party like a Diddy party, so. Yeah, that's what's up. But just as quickly as his empire rose, it came crashing down. Today I'm announcing the unsealing of a three-count indictment, charging Sean Combs with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, interstate transportation for prostitution.

I was f***ed up. I hit rock bottom, but I made no excuses. I'm disgusted. I'm so sorry. Until you're wearing an orange jumpsuit, it's not real. Now it's real. From his meteoric rise to his shocking fall from grace, from law and crime, this is The Rise and Fall of Diddy. Listen to The Rise and Fall of Diddy

exclusively with Wondery Plus. I'm Jake Warren, and in our first season of Finding, I set out on a very personal quest to find the woman who saved my mom's life. You can listen to Finding Natasha right now exclusively on Wondery Plus. In season two, I found myself caught up in a new journey to help someone I've never even met.

But a couple of years ago, I came across a social media post by a person named Loti. It read in part, Three years ago today that I attempted to jump off this bridge, but this wasn't my time to go. A gentleman named Andy saved my life.

I still haven't found him. This is a story that I came across purely by chance, but it instantly moved me, and it's taken me to a place where I've had to consider some deeper issues around mental health. This is season two of Finding, and this time, if all goes to plan, we'll be finding Andy.

You can listen to Finding Andy and Finding Natasha exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. In 1993, after Robert Hansen's awkward attempt to sell secrets to a GRU intelligence officer, the same officer makes a formal complaint to the U.S. State Department. He accuses the Americans of attempting to entrap him by sending a bumbling FBI agent to approach him outside his home. The FBI investigates the incident, trying to determine which agent, if any, made the approach. And Hansen follows the investigation closely,

using his access to the FBI's counterintelligence database. He's relieved to see that it goes nowhere, and that he's never considered a suspect. Once again, he's able to slip through the cracks. But during that same period, the FBI and CIA's joint investigation is narrowing in on a different double agent. That investigation, Operation Skylight,

has identified CIA counterintelligence agent Aldrich Ames as its leading suspect. Ames has a history of mishandling classified information, a reputation for hard drinking, and some unexplained travel abroad. And when investigators obtain Ames' bank and credit card records, they find he's been spending more than $20,000 a month, much more than his government salary would allow. So throughout 1993, authorities keep Ames under surveillance. And the more they watch him, the more they are convinced that he's the mole, the source of every link to the Russians dating back at least a decade. So by late 1993, plans are underway to finally arrest Ames and

bring Operation Skylight to a close. But over at the FBI, Tim Caruso isn't convinced. He's leading his own separate investigation, Operation Playfactor. And based on what he's uncovered so far, he doesn't think that Ames could be solely responsible for all the leaks. So Caruso pays a visit to the FBI's recently appointed new director, Louis Freeh, at Bureau headquarters in D.C. He hopes to persuade Freeh that there is still a mole somewhere in the FBI, but he knows that's the last thing Free wants to hear. Caruso enters the director's office with a large black plastic tube tucked under his arm, the kind of thing used to transport blueprints. Director Free, thanks for meeting with

me. Oh yeah, thanks for coming. I'm on a tight schedule though, so let's get to it. Of course, yeah, if you'll follow me. Caruso steps up to the large walnut conference table in the center of the room. He opens the tube and pulls out a long roll of butcher paper, laying it out on the table. The paper is so long, it dangles over the table's edge. All right, what am I looking at here? Well, I call it the Matrix. It contains every piece of information from our hunt on the possible mole in the FBI. You can see that I've connected names, dates, and motives with all known leaks.

It's very impressive, but also very overwhelming. Can I get an executive summary? Well, the long and short of it is, Unconvinced Ames isn't the only mole. I think we've got one of our own in the FBI. We need to keep looking. Well, I've got other more senior agents telling me otherwise. I know you do, sir, and I mean no disrespect, but I think they're letting wishful thinking cloud their judgment. Okay, well, show me your counter-argument.

Okay, look at this section here. You can see that a number of operations out of the FBI's New York field office were blown up in the period from 87 to 90. Ames wouldn't have had any knowledge of those operations. He never worked with the Bureau, and he left New York in 81. Yeah, but our electronic security wasn't the best in the 80s. I've been told it's possible that Ames was able to remotely access the FBI's computers at that time. That's highly unlikely. He didn't have that type of digital sophistication. And then there's also the matter of the Felix Block case. Caruso watches Free intently for a response to this. Felix Block is a sore subject among FBI leadership,

a suspected double agent working in the U.S. State Department who slipped through the FBI's grasp in 1989 and was ultimately never charged with espionage. But Free just nods. Yeah, what about him? Well, you may recall that we intercepted a call to Block, tipping him off that he was being investigated. We think that call came from the mole, but the voice didn't match Ames.

And Ames never had access to Block's file. So, in your scenario, this other mole is the one that tipped off Block. And you think he's one of our guys. I'm not sure, sir, but I don't think we can rule it out. Free steps back from the table and runs his fingers through his thinning brown hair. Well, look, I respect your attention to detail here, but I'm torn. The Ames case has been a nightmare for the CIA, and that kind of heat is the last thing the FBI needs right now. So I'm understandably reluctant to kick down the doors of our own agents

unless you're absolutely sure we need to. Well, it's your call, sir, but to me there is no choice. Imagine the blowback if there is indeed a mole in the Bureau and the media finds out we didn't even bother to look. The fallout would be ten times worse than Ames. Caruso can see Free softening as he continues walking the director through the evidence. And by the end of the meeting, Free is convinced. As much as the FBI would love to pin a decade's worth of leaks entirely on Aldrich Ames, the facts indicate that there must be another mole in U.S. intelligence, and he most likely works for the FBI. In February 1994, Aldrich Ames is arrested and charged with espionage. But with the blessing of Director Louis Freeh, the FBI continues its hunt for a second mole,

even teaming up once again with the CIA. And investigators spend the next four years working meticulously through their list of possible suspects until 1998, when they finally identify a new leading candidate. Surprisingly, it's not someone from the FBI. Instead, like Ames, he's a CIA counterintelligence agent, a man named Brian Kelly. Kelly and his family are put under close surveillance, and the FBI runs a sting on Kelly, hoping to catch him in the act of spying. But Kelly doesn't bite.

Instead, he reports the incident to the FBI the very next day. But still, the FBI is convinced that Kelly is their man. So they secretly search his home, where they find a map to a park in suburban Virginia with suspicious markings on it. The FBI has observed KGB agents near the park before, so they assume that the markings must be Kelly's dead drop sites. In reality, Kelly is simply an avid runner who uses the park before, so they assume that the markings must be Kelly's dead drop sites. In reality, Kelly is simply an avid runner who uses the park map to mark his favorite jogging routes. And that's the explanation he gives when the FBI brings him in for questioning. Still, the investigators refuse to believe him. They bug Kelly's phone and put him on leave from

the agency. He remains under a cloud of suspicion for years. All the while, Robert Hansen keeps close tabs on the Kelly investigation. He should be relieved that the FBI and CIA are pursuing a false lead, but instead it makes him increasingly nervous. For Hansen, the investigation is hitting a little too close to home. Kelly lives in the same neighborhood as Hansen, and the park where he jogs is the same park where Hansen has conducted many dead drops. So as Hansen's anxiety over the FBI's investigation builds, he turns once again to covert activities. But this time, they don't involve selling secrets to the Russians. Late one night in 1998, Hansen walks into his home office in Vienna, Virginia,

locking the door behind him. His wife Bonnie and their children are asleep upstairs, and Hansen can't take any chances that they'll walk in on him. If his family ever found out what he's been up to, it could mean the end of his marriage. Hansen sits down at the computer and types in the URL for an online news group he likes to frequent. It's a forum where anonymous users from all around the world meet to swap sex stories and fantasies. Hansen's got a great story to share, and the best part is it's all true. Hansen begins typing out a new post for his online friends.

He explains how he recently rigged his bedroom upstairs with a tiny hidden camera to record him having sex with his wife without her knowledge or consent. He even sets up a closed-circuit feed for when his friend Jack visits. That way Jack can watch the couple having sex live on TV in the den. It's not the first time Hansen has done this sort of thing. Back when his friend Jack was serving in Vietnam nearly 30 years ago, Hansen would mail him nude Polaroid photos of his wife Bonnie, again without her consent. But videotaping sex acts and telling the story to strangers online is a major escalation. Hansen even uses his real first

name in the stories, as well as those of Bonnie and Jack. And his full name is at the top of the post for all to see, along with his personal email address. Hansen knows that anyone, including the mole hunters at the FBI, could find this post and identify him as the author. So when he's finished typing, he pauses before publishing it. Maybe he should go back and change the names in the story. After all, names mean nothing to these strangers on the internet. But in the end, Hansen can't help himself.

He keeps the names as is. Then he clicks send, sitting back in his chair with a smile on his face. He feels a thrill rushing through his body as he imagines people all over the world enjoying his exploits. And as Hansen turns off the computer and heads back upstairs to join his wife in bed, he thinks about his other secret life. It's been years since he's sold classified information, and he's missing that thrill, too. He knows it'll be risky, with the FBI prowling his neighborhood as they investigate Brian Kelly. But maybe with everyone so focused on someone else,

it's the perfect time to reestablish contact with the Russians and revive his old alter ego, Ramon Garcia. On January 5th, 2024, an Alaska Airlines door plug tore away mid-flight, leaving a gaping hole in the side of a plane that carried 171 passengers. This heart-stopping incident was just the latest in a string of crises surrounding the aviation manufacturing giant, Boeing. In the past decade, Boeing has been involved in a series of damning scandals and deadly crashes that have chipped away at its once sterling reputation. At the center of it all, the 737 MAX, the latest season of business wars,

explores how Boeing, once the gold standard of aviation engineering descended into a nightmare of safety concerns and public mistrust the decisions, denials, and devastating consequences, bringing the Titan to its knees. And what, if anything can save the company's reputation. Now follow business wars on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can binge business wars, the unraveling of Boeing early and ad free right now on a Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge Business Wars, The Unraveling of Boeing, early and ad-free right now on Wondery Plus. In the fall of 1999, Robert Hansen reaches out to the Russians for the first time in six years. He's gotten away with spying on and off for two decades, and he knows that getting back in the game carries enormous risks. But he can't keep himself away. His compulsion to divulge secrets, along with the growing costs of his kids' tuition, drives him back into the arms of Moscow. This time, Hansen is dealing with a new agency,

though, the SVR, the Russian intelligence service that replaced the KGB after the fall of the Soviet Union. In a series of drops, Hansen provides the SVR with classified information in exchange for cash. They also leave each other a series of letters. The Russians ask for updates on the mole hunt and express worry that Hansen will be caught. They also exploit Hansen's need for validation. At times, their letters read more like old friends staying in touch than spies exchanging top-secret information. But Hansen's letters to the SVR take on an even more personal tone. He says he considers them friends and that he felt lonely when they've been

out of contact. He also notes that the U.S. recently reinstituted the death penalty for espionage and admits that the stress of it all makes him feel like he's losing his mind. Hansen has a good reason to be worried. U.S. intelligence has become so desperate to find their mole, they've started paying Russian agents for any information that could help them. And as part of this new program, in the spring of 2000, the FBI makes contact with a retired KGB agent turned businessman named Alexander Shcherbakov. Shcherbakov was stationed in Washington, D.C. during the time of some of the leaks that could not be attributed to Aldrich Ames, so the FBI believes he may have had contact with a mole they're still hunting.

The FBI sets up a fake business meeting to lure Shcherbakov from Moscow to New York City. And once he's on American soil, he's approached by Agent Mike Rochford, who finds him willing to cooperate. Shcherbakov reveals that not only is he aware of Ramon Garcia, he has access to an old KGB file back in Moscow that may contain enough clues to reveal the mole's identity.

Shcherbakov claims it even holds a tape recording of the mole's voice. But he tells Rochford that getting the file out of Russia will be complicated, and he won't sell the file for cheap either. The two men continue to meet in secret over several days, feeling each other out and exploring the possibility of a deal. It's a delicate negotiation. The FBI wants assurances that the contents of the file are worth what they're paying, but they can't know for certain until Shcherbakov delivers. Finally, after several tense meetings, they all agree to terms. The FBI will pay Shcherbakov $7 million, an enormous sum, but nothing compared to what the mole has already cost the US in lost assets.

The negotiations over payment and the logistics of retrieving the file drag on for over a week, and then, the night before Shcherbakov is due to fly back to Moscow, he and Rochford meet for one last time at a New York hotel, hammering out the final details of the plan. Rochford explains that Shcherbakov will hand the file over to the CIA in Moscow, and they'll ferry it back to Washington. Then, to avoid suspicion, Shcherbakov will sit tight for a while. He'll come back to the U.S. later, under a guise of another business trip, and help walk the FBI through the contents of the file. Rochford assures Shcherbakov that the operation will be airtight, but with the reality of the situation sinking in,

Shcherbakov starts nervously pacing back and forth in the hotel room. He reminds Rochford that Russia's newly elected president, Vladimir Putin, is a brutal man, a former KGB agent himself. Putin will likely have Shcherbakov killed if the plot's discovered. Rochford is suddenly afraid that the deal's slipping away, so he puts his hand on Shcherbakov's shoulder and reminds him that the FBI can guarantee that once he and his family defected the U.S., they'll be taken care of.

They'll be given new identities and kept under close watch, preventing any harm that covert Russian operatives might want to do to him. Shcherbakov lets out a deep sigh and shakes Rochford's hand. He says they have a deal, and the hunt for the mole could finally be coming to a close. The next day, Alexander Shcherbakov returns to Moscow, where he retrieves the Ramon Garcia file and delivers it to CIA agents in Moscow, who then smuggle it back to the U.S. And as promised, the file contains several clues to the mole's identity, including a number of letters written by the mole and a recording of a conversation between the mole and a KGB agent from the 1980s.

It also contains a mysterious envelope marked Do Not Open. Shcherbakov has instructed the FBI to keep that envelope sealed until he can return to the U.S. and explain its contents. At this point, the FBI is still working under the assumption that the mole is Brian Kelly, the CIA agent they've been hounding for two years. And when they review the letters, they notice that in the mole's early years, he refers to himself as B, Brian's first initial. So in November of 2000,

as Mike Rochford prepares to listen to the tape recording Shcherbakov sent for the first time, he fully expects to hear Brian Kelly's voice. Rochford is in a secluded, windowless lab in the basement of FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., with a fellow FBI counterintelligence agent, Michael Wagespack. Wagespack takes a mini-cassette out of an evidence folder

and holds it out for Rochford to read the label. I don't read Russian. What's that say? It says, phone call, Alexander Feflov, 1986. Okay, well, Feflav was a KGB officer. Let's hear it then. Wagaspak carefully inserts the cassette into a tape machine, turns the volume up, and takes a deep breath before hitting play. Hello, this is Williams.

Hi, this is Ramon. I'm calling about the car I purchased. Could you drop it off tomorrow morning? Yes, the car is... As the tape plays, Rochford closes his eyes and tries to imagine the mole's words coming out of Brian Kelly's mouth, but it doesn't sound like him. I believe it should be fine, thank you very much. Not at all, not at all. Nice job for both of us. Have a nice evening, sir. As the recording concludes, Waggersak presses stop on the machine.

The agents stand in tense silence for a moment. Finally, Wagaspak speaks. Well, are you thinking what I'm thinking, Mike? Well, I don't know. I mean, the quality of the recording is pretty bad. It's hard to say for sure, but that does not sound like Brian Kelly. Yeah, and Mike, it's not him.

The voice is too deep. Kelly's from Connecticut. I mean, this guy sounds Midwestern. Damn it, have we been hounding the wrong guy for the last two years? I mean, yeah, it's possible. Maybe there are two moles. Honestly, I'm not sure what to think at this point. We were so sure we had the right guy.

I'll tell you what, though. This voice does sound vaguely familiar. Something about his inflection. Play it again. The two agents play the tape several more times, but both of them are stumped. Wagaspak could swear he's heard this voice before, but he can't place it.

For Rochford, it's a crushing blow. The FBI paid a fortune to get their hands on this Ramon Garcia file, but so far they've been unable to extract anything of value from it. He worries that all his efforts to recruit Alexander Shcherbakov and get this file out of Russia have been in vain. With the tape recording failing to bear fruit, the investigation now rides on the rest of the file's contents, including several letters written by the mole over the past 15 years. The task of analyzing them falls to Bob King. King is a veteran

counterintelligence agent with decades of experience hunting moles, so he begins looking through the letters in November of 2000, determined to glean as much as he can about Ramon Garcia's true identity. King is heartened to find that some of the letters contain small details about the mole's life. Crucially, there's information indicating that he works for the FBI. He also gripes about being passed over for promotions. King makes a mental note to assemble personnel records from the Bureau and try to match the dates of the letters with agents who were denied promotions around the same time. But that will be time-consuming, and the clock is ticking. What King really needs is some piece of information

that is truly unique to the mole, something that jumps off the page. Then, as King scans to the end of one letter, a particular phrase jumps out at him. The mole signs off with a quote from World War II General George Patton that contains an obscure racial slur. It reads, It's an incredibly specific turn of phrase, and King remembers hearing it before, though he can't place where. At first, he thinks it must have been in an old movie. Then it hits King like a lightning bolt. It was one of his old bosses, Robert Hansen. he thinks it must have been in an old movie. Then it hits King like a lighting bolt.

It was one of his old bosses, Robert Hansen. King worked for Hansen back in 1987 on a team that put together a study of Soviet penetrations into the FBI. He remembers Hansen using that very phrase a few times back then. King scans the letter again, his mind racing. It seems impossible that Robert Hansen, the oddball computer geek, could be the mole. But the more King thinks about it, the more it makes sense. Hansen has been working in Russian counterintelligence for more than 20 years. He's even built some of the databases the FBI uses to track field reports,

giving Hansen extraordinary access to intelligence secrets. King goes through some of the other letters again, this time with an eye toward Hansen. Now he notices more clues, including multiple references to Hansen's hometown of Chicago. And there's the mole's original codename, B. And with a chill, King realizes it could be Bob, short for Robert, as in Bob Hansen. King doesn't waste any more time. He locks up the files and heads down the hall to grab Security Division Chief Neil Gallagher. King needs to get this explosive

discovery up the chain of command ASAP, because they're going to make Robert Hanson their new lead suspect. From Wondery, this is Episode 3 of FBI Agent Turned Russian Spy from American Scandal. In our next episode, the FBI plots a high-stakes scheme to catch Robert Hansen in the act so they can finally bring him to justice. If you're enjoying American Scandal, you can unlock exclusive seasons on Wondery+. Binge new seasons first and listen completely ad-free when you join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a survey at wondery.com slash survey. If you'd like to learn more about Robert Hansen, we recommend the books Spy by David Wise and The Spy Next Door by Anne Blackman and Elaine

Shannon. This episode contains reenactments and dramatized details. And while in most cases we can't know exactly what was said, all our dramatizations are based on historical research. American Scandal is hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham for Airship. Audio editing by Christian Paraga. Sound design by Gabriel Gould Music by Lindsey Graham This episode is written by Corey Metcalf

Edited by Emma Cortland Produced by John Reed Managing producer Olivia Fonte Senior producer Andy Herman Executive producers are Stephanie Jens, Jenny Lauer-Beckman, and Marsha Louis for Wondery.