![]() Two of these sources were tried in Russia and executed. Specifically, Hanssen provided first the Soviets and then the Russian government over 6,000 pages of classified documents and the identities of three Russian agents working for the US. He was charged with espionage and conspiracy to commit espionage. For most of his FBI career Hanssen had worked in counterintelligence, and he made use of what he learned in his own espionage career. He was arrested in a park near his home in Vienna, Virginia, as he dropped off a bag containing seven Secret documents at a covert location. , “Court Vacates Sentence of Filipino in Spy Case”Ģ001 - ROBERT PHILIP HANSSEN, an agent for the FBI for 27 years, was charged on 20 February 2001 with spying for Russia for more than 15 years. Reuters, “Ex-Cheney Aide Gets 10 Years in Prison in Spy Case” New York Times, “Two Men are Charged with Passing Secrets to Philippines” In February 2009 it was determined that Aquino’s sentence was based on a mistaken interpretation of federal guidelines and that his new sentence would range from 36 to 46 months, to include time already served since September 2005.Ĭ n.d., “Espionage/Spy Case: Leandro Aragoncillo and Michael Ray Aquino”į, “FBI Analyst, Filipino Charged With Spying” Aragoncillo was sentenced on 16 July 2007 to 10 years in prison, Aquino to six years and four months. They discovered that he had been making unauthorized queries of FBI databases and printing or downloading classified documents related to the Philipppines. Suspicious officials notified the FBI, who began an audit of Aragoncillo’s computer activities at his FBI office. The FBI’s investigation began after Aragoncillo intervened with US immigration officials on behalf of Aquino, who was facing deportation for overstaying his visa. From there he resumed sending classified documents via his courier, Aquino, to Filipino opposition politicians, who were trying to overthrow Estrada’s successor, President Gloria Arroyo. When his White House assignment ended in 2002, Aragoncillo sought positions in other parts of government, eventually in 2004 landing a job as an intelligence analyst at the FBI’s Information Technology Center. He would walk out of the White House on a fairly regular basis with disks of classified documents in his bag and even use the White House fax to send documents directly to the Philippines. (Estrada was eventually removed from office through impeachment in 2001.) Thus, while working for Cheney, Aragoncillo began stealing information about Filipino politicians and American policy towards the Philippines. Later he was approached by an Estrada associate and asked to pass along American intelligence that could be used to save Estrada’s presidency. President Clinton introduced Aragoncillo to Philippine president, Joseph Estrada, at the White House during Estrada’s official state visit to the US in 2000. He had been assigned (1999-2002) to the White House as staff assistant to military advisors in the Office of the Vice President, serving under Vice Presidents Gore and Cheney. Aragoncillo came to the US in 1982, and joined the Marine Corps in 1983, retiring in 2004 as a sergeant. The documents then were transferred to opposition politicians in the Philippines. Aragoncillo passed documents to Aquino by way of cell phone text messages, email and CDs. The material was passed to MICHAEL RAY AQUINO, a former deputy director of the Philippines National Police and a Philippine national who was then living in New York. Return to HOME DATES NAMES ORGANIZATIONS Federal Bureau of InvestigationĢ005 - LEANDRO ARAGONCILLO, a naturalized US citizen of Filipino origin, was arrested on 10 September 2005, charged with passing classified intelligence reports regarding the Philippines to current and former officials of that country during a period when he worked at the White House and, later, in 2005, from his FBI office.
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