Hanssen May Have Spied in ’79

Federal investigators are trying to determine whether fired FBI agent Robert Philip Hanssen may have begun spying for the Russians as early as 1979, when he apparently was caught by his wife counting large, unexplained amounts of cash, a source familiar with the investigation said Friday.

The Justice Department has charged publicly that the former counterespionage agent began spying for the Russians in 1985 in exchange for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.

But if the earlier date is confirmed, it could significantly expand the extent of his espionage and the types of secrets he may have given the Russians in what already is the biggest espionage breach in FBI history.

And it also could raise questions about the knowledge his wife may have had about his activities. In past accounts, federal authorities have said that Bonnie Hanssen did not know her husband was a spy.

“The question now becomes: How much don’t we know about what Hanssen did?” the law enforcement source said.

Citing a source close to Hanssen’s family, CBS News reported Friday evening that Hanssen confessed his spying not only to his wife in 1979 while they were living in Scarsdale, N.Y., but also to a priest affiliated with the conservative Roman Catholic organization, Opus Dei.

After the confessional, Hanssen allegedly took more than $10,000 he had been paid by the Soviets and donated it to Mother Teresa, CBS reported. He then stopped spying for six years. While he did not tell his wife once he resumed working for Moscow, he did continue to confess his activities to Opus Dei priests throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the report said, citing a psychiatrist who was hired by Hanssen’s defense team but has since been fired.

Bonnie Hanssen allegedly has told the FBI that her husband promised her around 1980 that he would end all contacts with Moscow and that she was stunned when he was arrested in February near their home in suburban Washington, D.C., according to a separate report in the New York Times.

Law enforcement officials said they had no reason to question her truthfulness but that they have been unable to collect other evidence corroborating her statements, the New York Times said.

Justice Department officials refused to discuss the reports Friday night, and Hanssen’s lead attorney, Plato Cacheris, could not be reached for comment.

Hanssen was arrested and charged with espionage four months ago after allegedly leaving a “dead drop” of computer disks containing national security secrets for his Russian handlers.

He pleaded not guilty last month, but his attorneys and the Justice Department now appear to be nearing a plea bargain after federal prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty against Hanssen if he cooperated fully with their investigation. The death penalty had been a key sticking point in plea negotiations.