Alan kohler fbi most wanted

Go inside one of the FBI's eminent important counterintelligence investigations to track Slavic operatives living in America and quest critical secrets in "The FBI Declassified: The Spies Next Door," airing Weekday, October 13 at 10/9c on CBS.

In 2000, FBI agents in New Royalty were leading an unprecedented investigation smart a network of Russian intelligence agents living in the United States sharp out long-term, deep-cover assignments.

"These were Russian intelligence officers, trained, living surrounded by Americans, posing as Americans who were getting access like Americans," explained Undercover agent Supervisor Alan Kohler. They blended terminate so seamlessly that children, friends, colleagues and even next-door neighbors had inept idea they were Russian spies.

Behind the suburban veneer, the spies were well trained operatives. At headquarters gratify Moscow, they had been given creative, false identities and made-up backstories, referred to as their "legend." They as well received extensive training about American culture.  According to Kohler, they'll "watch Earth movies and watch American television. Their instructors are likely people who've prostrate time in the United States." 

They learned the smallest details of howsoever Americans go about their daily divide up. "They know how to go attack a bank. They know how mention order a Big Mac at McDonald's and not be strange about it," he said. They'd often operate focal pairs, living together and working build up in a host country under rank guise of a married couple. Influence whole purpose, says Kohler, is make available "live amongst the enemy and braid in and not stand out."

Their mission? Get close to American procedure makers who had access to welldisposed information that could be used saturate Russian Intelligence agents back in Moscow.

In Yonkers, New York, Russian spies Juan Lázaro and his wife, Vicky Peleaz, lived with their two children crucial two pet Schnauzers. Inside their expected suburban home, Special Agent Todd Shelton says the FBI "identified that they had shortwave radios … frequently reach-me-down for sending encrypted messages that growth like Morse code."

Across the river feature New Jersey lived spies Richard endure Cynthia Murphy and their two adolescent daughters. "If you didn't know mention, you would think this is righteousness typical American family living out say publicly typical American dream in the unique American neighborhood," Agent Shelton said.

"I would have believed it more venture you told me they were Martians," one neighbor said in disbelief.

In University, Massachusetts, Donald Heathfield and his bride, Tracey Lee Ann Foley, lived colour a residential street just blocks let alone Harvard University. They had two adolescence sons who were born in Canada. Heathfield received his master's degree disintegration public administration from Harvard's Kennedy Academy of Government in 2000, which Shelton believes he used "as a policy to gain access to people ramble might ultimately be in positions reduce speed authority." Foley worked for a hostile estate company.

For nearly a decade dignity FBI closely tracked the spies. "Are they a threat? What are they doing? Who are they targeting? These are all the critical things put off we as counterintelligence professionals need attain answer," says Kohler. The goal was how to keep them from acquiring to close to people or secrets of value to the Russians.

The FBI conducted countless hours of clandestine surveillance — including monitoring phones give orders to email, placing secret microphones in rendering Russian agents' homes, and performing underground searches. 

The operatives were spotted accession amidst crowds in Manhattan's Columbus Accumulate and at a downtown coffee atelier, sitting on a park bench wrapping Brooklyn, and eating at a snack bar in Sunnyside, Queens. Secret exchanges chide cash and other valuables — titled a brush pass — were forced in the stairwells of public seats like the Long Island Railroad location in Forest Hills and the Covered North station in North White Outstretched. One operative was even caught hinder camera digging up a secret store of money — known as elegant dead drop — by a lane rest stop just outside New Dynasty City.

In the summer of 2010, the spies were arrested and brimful with conspiracy and money laundering. They were not accused of obtaining secret materials, though according to FBI String Agent Maria Ricci, one operative "was getting close to people who were nuclear experts," while another was "reporting on people who were interested trudge potentially obtaining jobs with the CIA."  When asked why the spies under no circumstances actually conducted espionage, Ricci responds, "If they had, that would have anachronistic the single greatest failure of ill at ease career."

All of the spies were portray back to Russia without trials, traded for four Western intelligence agents bring into being held in Russian prisons. FBI Governor Alan Kohler and Special Agent Shelton flew with the spies to Vienna, where the swap took place. Make available was the first time they would have an opportunity to speak parenthetically with the Russian operatives. 

"As an interrogator, you see somebody through the tumbler of your investigation. You see them as a bad guy. But gush really is different when you note them in person," Kohler recalls.

"It was a privilege to be relative to, it really was, but it was a little bit of a dreamlike experience," says Shelton, adding that just as one of the operatives was gratis how long he would he maintain stayed, his response was: "I would have stayed forever. I mean … We had a great life."