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Big ego, big money cited as alleged spy's motivation
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- He showed the world a hard-working, low-key, family man persona while allegedly selling U.S. secrets to Russia. But a big ego and a childhood fascination with British double agent Kim Philby may have driven spy suspect Robert Hanssen to risk everything, one security expert suggests.
Author and intelligence consultant Abram Shulsky said Hanssen appeared to have some "adolescent rebelliousness" in him rather than a lust to make huge amounts of money. "Obviously the glamour and excitement played to him, but that attraction of being superior to everyone else around you seemed to play a part ... People in the FBI are a lot like that," said Shulsky, author of the book "Silent Warfare." Authorities say Hanssen, a 25-year veteran of the FBI, began his betrayal more than 15 years ago, during the waning days of the Cold War. Diamonds for children's securityFederal prosecutors painted a damning portrait of greed and cold calculation in their 116-page criminal complaint. "He's not volunteering for nothing," FBI Director Louis Freeh said at a news conference. Prosecutors allege Hanssen made $1.4 million from his spying activities, $600,000 of which was in cash and diamonds, with the rest going into an escrow account in Russia. In its court filing, the FBI quoted from one letter that they allege Hanssen wrote: "I have little need or utility for more than the 100,000," he wrote. "It merely provides a difficulty since I cannot spend it, store it or invest it easily without triping (sic) 'drug money' warning bells. Perhaps some diamonds as security to my children and some good will. ... Eventually I would appreciate an escape plan. Nothing lasts forever." In another letter, allegedly written by Hanssen to the Russians, he said that he was inspired as a teen by the memoirs of a British double agent. "I decided on this course when I was 14 years old," reads the letter cited in the FBI's affidavit. "I'd read Philby's book. Now that is insane, eh!" Hanssen, according to the document, had a cynical view of his own country. In another letter cited in the FBI affidavit, Hanssen allegedly wrote: "The U.S. can be errantly likened to a powerfully built but retarded child, potentially dangerous, but young, immature and easily manipulated." No red flags at homeBut one of Hanssen's former FBI supervisors, David Major, said he did not believe money was the prime motivation, adding that his former colleague was obsessed by ideas, his wife, Bonnie and their six children rather than material wealth. "Maybe he was intrigued with the game and not the gain," suggested Major. Hanssen, 56, lived a seemingly quiet life on a tree-lined street in Vienna, Virginia, a Washington suburb. The couple had purchased the comfortable, brick home in 1987 for $205,000. "It is strange to wake up this morning and still see the crime scene tape and the FBI still down there, that it actually wasn't a dream," Jennifer Hones, a neighbor, said Wednesday, one day after Hanssen's case was brought to light. "I guess it's still just a real sense of shock, though." Neighbors described a man devoted to his family, and a regular churchgoer. "When I walk on Sunday, they're always loading into their van, all seven, eight of them going to Mass without fail, so it's just not the kind of thing you expect to have brought up," said Nancy Cullen, another neighbor.
"Bonnie teaches classes part time at a religious high school, the Catholic high school," Cullen added. "She teaches religious studies. The kids are great kids -- well-educated, polite, nice kids. It's just a great family." Hanssen's neighbors said they knew he worked for the FBI, but they knew little about his job. "There was nothing that would raise a red flag or make me as an individual suspicious," said Patricia Bennett, another neighbor. Emotional temperatureFormer neighbors in Chicago, where Hanssen grew up and went to high school, said Hanssen's father was a police officer. The younger Hanssen studied chemistry and Russian at Knox College. He then studied dentistry at Northwestern until 1968 before receiving a master's degree in accounting and information systems from the university in 1971. Both schools are in Illinois. Hanssen worked as a junior accountant at a Chicago firm from 1971 to 1972 and became a certified public accountant in 1973. While on the Chicago police force, from 1972 to 1975, Hanssen worked undercover in a confidential internal investigations section. His assignment? Weeding out corrupt police officers, according to Sgt. Robert Cargie, a spokesman for the department. In January 1975 he took a leave of absence and never returned to the force. He joined the FBI in 1976. In Washington, Hanssen was posted at the State Department as the FBI liaison to the Office of Foreign Mission from 1995 until December 2000. Authorities are investigating whether Hanssen was involved in any espionage while he was at that post and are trying to determine whether Hanssen could be tied to a State Department incident last year involving a missing computer laptop that contained highly classified information. His specialty with the FBI was counter-intelligence. At one point in his career, he worked in New York as supervisor of counter-intelligence. He focused on turning Russian spies into double agents or -- if that failed -- getting them out of the country. "He was a quiet individual. He was reserved," said Larry Torrence, a former FBI official. "He was somewhat introverted, but he was known to be very bright, and he was known to be a hard worker and dedicated to his work, so, no, nothing was suspicious." Jim Kallstrom, former director of the FBI's New York office, agreed. "His reputation was of a quiet, professional man. He kept to himself, thought of himself as a deep thinker," Kallstrom said. Hanssen dressed in black so often that colleagues called him "Dr. Death." One former FBI colleague in New York described Hanssen as decidedly low-key. "If you put a grenade under this guy, he wouldn't have been excitable," the colleague said. On Tuesday, Hanssen, tall and slender, appeared calm during his initial court appearance. But his lawyer, Plato Cacheris, said Hanssen was "quite upset" and "very emotional" during their initial meeting earlier that morning. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. RELATED STORIES: FBI agent charged as Russian spy RELATED SITES:
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