Speaking of spies: Sergei Tretyakov, former Russian spy who defected to US (Canadian connection too), dies at 53
La N
Sergei Tretyakov, 53
Sergei Tretyakov dies; former Russian spy defected to U.S. in 2000
By T. Rees Shapiro
Sergei Tretyakov, a high-ranking Russian spy whose defection to the United
States in 2000 was regarded as one of the most significant coups against the
Russian government since the collapse of the Soviet Union, died June 13
[2010] at his home in Osprey, Fla.
Mr. Tretyakov's wife said he died after suffering a heart attack, according
to Pete Earley, the author of a book about Mr. Tretyakov. The former Russian
spy was 53 and news of his death was withheld at the request of his family
pending an investigation into the cause, Earley said.
"This man literally held the keys to a Russian intelligence gold mine," an
unnamed FBI official was quoted as saying in Earley's 2007 book, "Comrade J:
The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America After the End of the
Cold War." "He used those keys to unlock its doors and go into the mine
every day to bring us nuggets."
Mr. Tretyakov was born into a spying family and rose through the ranks of
Russian intelligence to become a colonel in the SVR, the successor to the
Soviet KGB espionage agency.
At the time of his defection on Oct. 11, 2000, Mr. Tretyakov allegedly had
been working as a double agent for the United States for three years while
he was the SVR's second-in-command in New York. From 1995 to 2000, he
oversaw all Russian covert operations in the city and had more than 60
intelligence officers under his command, according to Earley's book.
The intelligence Mr. Tretyakov handed over during his time as a double agent
amounted to more than 5,000 top-secret SVR cables and scores of classified
Russian intelligence reports. He wrote an estimated 400 papers for the CIA,
the FBI, the State Department and the White House.
For his efforts, Mr. Tretyakov and his family were given U.S. citizenship,
and he reportedly netted the highest amount ever paid to a U.S. intelligence
source -- a fortune that was said to be in the millions of dollars, which he
used to buy himself a Lexus SUV and his wife a Porsche.
Sergei Olegovich Tretyakov was born in Moscow on Oct. 5, 1956. His
grandmother was a typist and secretary in the forerunner of the KGB. His
father worked in the Soviet nuclear weapons program, and his mother worked
in the financial office of the KGB and helped her son gain entry into the
spy service.
Mr. Tretyakov was born with a heart defect that would have denied him entry
into the KGB, but his mother bribed a doctor to leave the condition out of
his application to the agency.
When the ruse was discovered, his commander recognized that Mr. Tretyakov's
skill at beating the system suggested great potential as a spy.
Early in his career, Mr. Tretyakov impressed senior officers by analyzing
seemingly innocuous, and unclassified, U.S. reports and gleaning valuable
intelligence from their pages.
In one instance, he was able to extrapolate from a congressional report on
U.S. military installations which types of aircraft could land at certain
bases, judging from the length of their runways.
He was dispatched to Ottawa on his first overseas assignment in 1990 and was
known under the code name "Comrade Jean." There, he recruited several
high-ranking Canadian officials, allegedly including a member of Parliament.
In Earley's book, Mr. Tretyakov revealed much of the SVR's structure,
including technical details about operations and the identities of agents
and sources. He also revealed that his agents had skimmed $500 million in
profits for the Russian government from the U.N. oil-for-food program in
Iraq.
He claimed to have unmasked dozens of SVR undercover agents, including
several ambassadors and U.N. representatives, but despite the sweeping
accusations, no one cited by Mr. Tretyakov has been charged with espionage.
Many critics said Mr. Tretyakov exaggerated his persona as a good guy, but
he never denied his role within the ruthless intelligence agency, saying,
"I'm not a Boy Scout."
Newspaper accounts speculated that Mr. Tretyakov had taken part in outing
FBI double agent Robert Hanssen in 2001 and in the recent arrests of Russian
agents living deep undercover in the United States for more than a decade.
But Earley said that Mr. Tretyakov never admitted to being the Hanssen
source and that he apparently had no role in the investigation of the spy
ring.
Survivors include his wife, Helen, and a daughter, Ksenia, both of Osprey.
Earley, a former Washington Post reporter, said he was skeptical of Mr.
Tretyakov's motivations when he first met the former spy. But Mr. Tretyakov
said he came forward only because of his disgust with the Russian
government.
"Of course I want people to know what I have done," Mr. Tretyakov told
Earley in the book. "However, most Americans can't pronounce Tretyakov, nor
will they remember the name for longer than a few seconds."
Dennis
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/09/AR20100
> 70905179.html
>
> Sergei Tretyakov, 53
>
> Sergei Tretyakov dies; former Russian spy defected to U.S. in 2000
Now that *is* a coincidence - or is it? This article says Tretyakov was
the one who outed the 11 that were just swapped to the FBI a long time
ago. Conspiracy theory time, kiddies!
http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20100630
_dismantling_suspected_russian_intelligence_operation
La N
> La N wrote:
>
>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/09/AR20100
>> 70905179.html
>>
>> Sergei Tretyakov, 53
>>
>> Sergei Tretyakov dies; former Russian spy defected to U.S. in 2000
>
> Now that *is* a coincidence - or is it? This article says Tretyakov
> was the one who outed the 11 that were just swapped to the FBI a long
> time ago. Conspiracy theory time, kiddies!
>
> http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20100630
> _dismantling_suspected_russian_intelligence_operation
>
>
>
zee plot theekins ....
We'll see what Jack has to say when he reports to duty in the a.m.
- nilita