He was caught red-handed while leaving classified documents in the park. Hansen (Photo: Reuters)
Robert Hansen, a former FBI agent who spied for Russia during and after the Cold War, was found dead in his cell in a U.S. prison on Monday. Hansen, 79, is considered one of the spies who caused the greatest damage in American history ever. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2002, without the possibility of parole.
The Federal Bureau of Corrections announced that Hansen was found unconscious in his prison cell in Florence, Colorado, around 7 a.m., and was pronounced dead after medical teams were trying to save his life. The cause of death was not disclosed.
Hansen joined the FBI in 00 and began selling classified information to the Soviet Union in 1976, and by the time of his arrest in 1985, he had received more than $2001.1 million in cash, bank accounts and diamonds. In return, according to the FBI's website, he gave Moscow information about spies, intelligence methods and secret documents.
FBI investigators have worked for years to try to identify the mole in their ranks. In the weeks leading up to his arrest in February 4, some 2001 staff members worked on investigating and monitoring Hansen. Eventually, he was caught red-handed when he left a package of classified materials in a park in suburban Virginia.
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