Aldrich Ames, CIA Spy, Dies

Aldrich Ames, a former United States — Central Intelligence Agency officer who became one of the most damaging spies in US history, died in a federal prison in Cumberland, Maryland, at the age of 84. Ames had been serving a life sentence without parole since 1994 after pleading guilty to espionage and tax evasion. He spied for the Soviet Union and later Russia between 1985 and 1994, compromising hundreds of US intelligence operations and leading to the arrest and execution of at least ten Western agents. Ames received over $2.5 million from the Soviet Union — KGB for his betrayal. His actions exposed catastrophic vulnerabilities in the United States — Central Intelligence Agency's internal security, prompting comprehensive reforms in US counterintelligence operations. The United States — Federal Bureau of Investigation, in a joint investigation with the United States — Central Intelligence Agency, arrested Aldrich Ames and his wife, Rosario Casas Dupuy, in 1994. Rosario Casas Dupuy also pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting his activities and received a shorter sentence.