19. Warning Signs That Were Ignored for Years
There were plenty of warning signs about Aldrich Ames, such as conspicuous consumption and extravagant spending. For example, he bought a big $520,000 house – serious money at the time – that was paid for in cash. There were luxury vacations, premium credit cards whose minimum monthly payment exceeded his salary, and luxury cars that stood out in the CIA’s parking lot. Those were things that no honest public servant could afford on government pay. However, no alarm bells were raised for years. When they were, it took years more, until 1993, before his employers took a serious look at his finances and activities. In the meantime, Ames had passed two polygraphs.
He needed no high-tech means or complicated Oceans Eleven-type capers to smuggle out secrets. Ames simply stuffed documents in his briefcase or in trash bags, and brazenly carried them out of the CIA headquarters at the end of the workday. As a result of Ames’ treachery, at least twelve CIA spies within the Soviet Union were captured, of whom ten were subsequently executed. By the time they were finally unmasked, Ames and his wife had revealed to the Soviets and Russians the identity of every CIA spy in their country. After he was arrested in 1994, the slimy spook cut a deal with prosecutors that spared him the death penalty, and ensured that his wife got no more than a five-year sentence.
