Aldrich Ames, the former CIA counterintelligence officer who orchestrated one of the most devastating espionage operations in American history, has died at age 84 while serving a life sentence without parole. His death occurred on Monday at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland, according to CBS News.
Ames’ treasonous activities, which began in April 1985, fundamentally compromised U.S. intelligence operations during the final years of the Cold War. Motivated primarily by financial gain, the disgruntled officer initiated his betrayal by providing the KGB with classified information in exchange for $50,000. This initial transaction marked the beginning of a nine-year espionage campaign that would net him approximately $2.5 million from Soviet and later Russian intelligence services.
Operating under the codename ‘Kolokol’ (The Bell), Ames systematically identified virtually all CIA operatives within Soviet territory. His disclosures resulted in the compromise of more than 100 clandestine operations and the exposure of over 30 Western intelligence agents, leading to the confirmed executions of at least 10 CIA assets.
The financial rewards enabled Ames to maintain an extravagant lifestyle far beyond his $70,000 annual government salary. He purchased a $540,000 home, drove luxury Jaguar automobiles, and funded extensive foreign travel—all while accumulating substantial debts that further fueled his espionage activities.
Ames’ 31-year CIA career began in 1962 through his father’s connections within the agency. Despite documented security violations, including leaving classified materials on public transportation, he advanced to lead the CIA’s Soviet counterintelligence department in 1983. His professional success contrasted sharply with personal struggles, including alcoholism and financial mismanagement that ultimately drove his betrayal.
His second wife, Maria del Rosario Casas Dupuy, a Colombian cultural attaché and CIA asset, was charged as an accomplice but received a reduced sentence of five years after cooperating with investigators. The investigation leading to Ames’ February 1994 arrest represented one of the FBI’s most significant counterintelligence successes.
Former CIA Director R. James Woolsey characterized Ames as ‘a malignant betrayer of his country,’ noting that agents died because ‘a murdering traitor wanted a bigger house and a Jaguar.’ Ames’ cooperation with authorities secured leniency for his wife but couldn’t mitigate the profound damage inflicted upon U.S. intelligence capabilities during a critical geopolitical period.