1. The Russian Illegals, 2010 Mark Stout
Historian, International Spy Museum
Lecturer, Johns Hopkins University
June, 2011

2. What is… …an “illegal”? …a “spetsagent”? …a “special reserve officer”?
…Directorate S of the SVR?

3. Line N: Illegal Support
SVR “Residency”
Line N officers in each residency to support ops by illegals
Also spotting, assessing, and recruiting.
Often support illegals working in other countries.
Line N officers in each residency to support ops by illegals
Meetings, surveillance, financial support, checking their contacts, etc.
Kouzminov, for instance, talks about an illegal support officer in Mexico working with an illegal who was posted in the US and would sometimes come to Mexico.
Vladimir Kuzichin, Inside the KGB.

4. Selection and Training
Selected young
Marriage and children
Training
Challenges
“Illegals are loners, strangers in a crowd.”
Illegals usually chosen when less than 30 years old.
Challenges
May return be gone 15 or 20 years.
Trustworthiness a problem
Often hard to reintegrate into Soviet society.
“Illegals are loners, strangers in a crowd.”
Marriage and children.
May leave spouses behind.
Sometimes issued spouses who are strangers to them.
Sometimes these marriages work, sometimes not.
Kouzminov talks about a case of a couple of illegals who’d served in France and had children as Frenchmen. Couple, upon finally being recalled to the USSR, brought their children with them and only then told them that they (the kids) weren’t French, they were Soviets.
Training (4 years)
Brush-passes
Short wave operations
Secret writing
Codes and ciphers
Counter-surveillance
Concealment and destruction of equipment and material
Dry run in a third country [New Times 5/28/2011, WNS]
Concealment device of
a Soviet illegal at the
International Spy Museum.

5. Legends and Documentation
Directorate S prefers real documentation.
Directorate S likes to recruit people who can provide real documentation, e.g.
People who work at passport offices, police stations, DMVs, churches (to provide baptism records), etc.
Kuzichkin had the Afghan consul in Iran working for him.
They also like to find birth certificates of children who died young, esp with no close relatives.
E.g. When a whole family dies in a car accident.
New identities: “legends”
Phony citizenship
University degrees
Jobs, professional associations
Marriage and children

6. What Do Illegals Do?
They are involved in the clandestine activities, the main purpose of which is to be actively involved during the crisis times and when the diplomatic ties are suspended, when other means of intelligence service are not efficient or sometimes are not possible.
--Vladimir Putin on Larry King Live.
Spot
Recruit
Run
“Illegals…seldom insert themselves in sensitive posts or target governments”
Especially important in wartime/crisis: “konservy”
Spot
Recruit
Kim Philby recruited by an illegal
Run
Kalugin talked in our podcast about how the Soviets had an illegal take over handling John Walker for a time.
“Illegals…seldom insert themselves in sensitive posts or target governments”
Stringent background investigations a problem.
“Konservy”: WNS: New Times Online, 28 May 2011.

7. 2010: Illegals in the US
Arrested 27 June, announced 28 June 2010.

8. SPECIAL RESERVE OFFICER (?)
Roster
ILLEGALS
Donald Heathfield (Boston)
Tracey Lee Ann Foley (Boston)
Richard Murphy (New Jersey)
Cynthia Murphy (New Jersey)
Michael Zottoli (Seattle)
Patricia Mills (Seattle)
Juan Lazaro (Yonkers)
SPETSAGENTS (?)
Vicky Pelaez (Yonkers)
Anna Chapman (NYC)
Mikhail Semenko (Arlington, VA)
Alexey Karetnikov (Seattle)
SPECIAL RESERVE OFFICER (?)
Christopher Metsos (int’l)

9. Christopher Metsos Special reserve officer? Claimed to be Canadian
Apartment building in Larnaca
Special reserve officer?
Claimed to be Canadian
Come and go from the US
Conduit for money, guidance to the illegals
Arrested, skipped bail in Cyprus.

10. Boston: Donald Heathfield
Real name: Andrey Bezrukov
Naturalized, from Canada
Claimed son of Canadian diplomat, studied in Czech Republic
Entered US in 1999
Used the birth certificate of a dead Canadian
Most of what seems to have been reported to Moscow came from him.

11. Boston: Tracey Lee Ann Foley
Tracey Lee Ann Foley aka Yelena Vavilova. Pictures of her in her 20s in safe deposit box in Cambridge. The negatives were on TACMA film--a Soviet film company.
20 Year old son at GWU.
16 year old son at the International School in Boston
Tracey
Lee Ann Foley
aka Yelena Vavilova
Cambridge Home

12. Boston: Donald Heathfield
MPA Kennedy School, Harvard, 2000.
A “joiner,” kept track of classmates
Member, World Future Society
A classmate at KSG was Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
Stripped of his degree in 2010
Bezrukov was a professional member of the World Future Society, described by the Boston Herald as "a think tank on future technologies that holds conferences featuring top government scientists“

13. Boston: Donald Heathfield
with “Global Partners Inc.”
Clients of Global Partners Inc.
Boston Scientific GE
T-Mobile, etc.

14. Boston: Donald Heathfield
2006 to 2010 he ran “Future Map”
Analyze the English here.
This brings him in contact with Leon Fuerth
Professor William Halal at GWU, both of whom have spoken publicly about their experiences with Heathfield.
Fuerth wrote that “Heathfield introduced himself to me after a speech I gave, and described himself as having similar interests in the subject of long-range foresight as a means for making better decisions.’’He added, “I was [and still am] teaching the subject, and he represented that he was dealing with it as a business subject. Eventually, he proposed that we look for a way to partner on a research grant — but the idea didn’t appeal to me.’’ Fuerth, who said in the that he was traveling in Asia with his family, added, “once he [Heathfield] understood that I was not interested, he stopped communicating.’’ -- Boston Globe
Another [GWU] professor, William Halal, has been connected as a business partner for Heathfield. Halal confirmed Tuesday that he worked with Heathfield over the last decade.
“We met in my office at George Washington University at least 2-3 times,” Halal said in an . “Although I never suspected he was a Russian spy, I did wonder how he supported a family in Boston on what did not seem to be a prosperous business. In retrospect, I marvel at how well he…infiltrated the normal activities of life in Washington policy circles.”
“It was truly a shock to hear of his arrest, and I wonder what on Earth caused the Russians to think they would gain access to valuable intelligence.”
Tried to sell software to STRATFOR, per George Friedman.

15. New Jersey: The Murphys
Richard aka Vladimir Guryev
Cynthia aka Lidiya Guryeva
Picture:

16. New Jersey: The Murphys
Picture:
Montclair New Jersey House

17. New Jersey: Richard Murphy
Came to the US in the mid-1990s
Claimed to be an American born in Philadelphia
Birth certificate forged
Metsos to Murphy: “Well, I’m so happy I’m not your handler.” (March 2002)
Sources: Criminal Complaint US vs. Metsos, et al
Indictment US vs. Metsos, et al
Photos: Wikipedia and
Bharara to Ellis, 1 July 2010, “Re: United States vs. Defendant #1, a/k/a ‘Christopher R. Metsos,’ et al 10 Mag. 1391”
2002 Murphy frustrated. Discussed money and other things in a meeting at a restaurant.
20 June 2004 met Zottoli and gave him money from Metsos.
26 Sept 2009 gave Zottoli money from the Russian Mission at UN

18. New Jersey: Cynthia Murphy
Two bachelor degrees from NYU and an MBA from Columbia
On LinkedIn
VP of Morea Financial Services in New York
Targeted Alan Patricof
Venture capitalist
Co-Chair of Hillary Clinton’s campaign
He says never discussed anything more than his taxes.
Sources: Criminal Complaint US vs. Metsos, et al
Indictment US vs. Metsos, et al
Photos: Wikipedia and
Bharara to Ellis, 1 July 2010, “Re: United States vs. Defendant #1, a/k/a ‘Christopher R. Metsos,’ et al 10 Mag. 1391”

19. New Jersey: Richard and Cynthia Murphy
Concerns about their legends
Center steered their careers
2009 Center tells Cynthia to strengthen ties with profs/classmates
Access
Security checks
Students who’d applied to CIA
Well done. A good job…. Our tech people in NY didn’t notice anything suspicious.
--SVR to NJ Conspirators
Source: Criminal Complaint, US vs. Metsos, et al
“C reminds you [Cynthia Murphy] that placing a job in Government (direct penetration into main object of interest) is not an option because of vulnerability of your vital records”
2010: Cynthia thinks about applying for a job in a lobbying firm. Center checks and approves because they won’t check her background too deeply.

20. Yonkers: Pelaez and Lazaro
Vicky Pelaez and Juan Lazaro
Two sons, one an adult
Arrived in US in 1980s
Pelaez and Lazaro
Two sons, one an adult
Drove an old Mitsubish Montero
Vicky Pelaez, a well-known left-wing journalist.
Briefly there was a “Committee to Defend Vicky Pelaez”
“initiated by the progressive Peruvian community in the New York City area”
“These charges are nothing more than slander disguised by legal rhetoric.”
“Vicky Pelaez knows, as we also know, that the charges against her are malicious and false”

21. Juan Lazaro General Mikhail Vasenkov Claimed Peruvian from Uruguay
Former adjunct prof of Political Science at Baruch College
Falsifying info in reports
He said he’d betray his son before he’d betray the service he worked for.
General Mikhail Vasenkov, Hero of Russia.

22. Vicky Pelaez Well-known left-wing journalist. El Diario/ La Prensa
1984 held hostage by MRTA in Peru
“Vicky Pelaez knows, as we also know, that the charges against her are malicious and false”
--Committee to Defend Vicky Pelaez
Sources:
Lazaro communicated by radio with the Center
They also used “invisible ink”
14 January 2000 video surveillance in a park in S. America, Pelaez receives money
25 August 2007 Lazaro in a park in S. America receives money from Russian Embassy official

23. Yonkers: Pelaez and Lazaro
Lazaro communicated by radio with Center
They also used “invisible ink”
14 January 2000 video surveillance in a park in S. America, Pelaez receives money
25 August 2007 Lazaro in a park in S. America receives money from Russian Embassy official

24. What Did Russia Target? Cultivating contacts
Speculation about running an agent at NSA
Geography:
Boston: Government
New York: Business and Government
Seattle: Tech?
Washington: Government
Contacts:
China expert at New America Foundation
Prof. William Halal
Leon Fuerth
Where is Silicon Valley here?

25. What Did Russia Target?
Foreign Policy
Intelligence
Terrorism
Economic info
Military Info
Domestic politics
You were sent to USA for long-term service trip. Your education, bank acounts, car, house etc. – all these serve one goal: fulfill your main mission, i.e. to search and develop ties in policymaking circles and send intels to C.
--SVR to Murphys, 2009
China
Chechnya
Central Asia
New START
Afghanistan
STRATFOR
Iran Nuclear program
Intelligence:
Tony Shaffer
People applying to the CIA
Terrorism:
US policy toward terrorist use of the internet.
Economic info:
Global Gold market: Cynthia Murphy. Info sent to Min of Finance and Min. of Econ Development
Military
Contact with someone involved with nuclear weapons. Discussion of small nukes
Heathfield: asked for “military info”
Domestic Politics:
2008 election
White House gossip
Lazaro/Vasenkov at one point obtained info on the domestic and foreign travel schedule of the US President, though it’s not clear if he got this while serving as an illegal.

26. QUESTIONS?
CSPAN URL

27. Why Do (Post-)Communist Countries Use Illegals?
Lack of embassies
Individuals valued less?
Immigration
Scrutiny of the population
Individuals valued less?
Lots of immigration to western countries.
Illegals to the US frequently claim to be immigrants. Esp. from Canada.
(Give examples from the 2010 case)
Helps explain accents
Less scrutiny of citizens by the governments of democratic countries.
Borders comparatively easy to cross.

29. Colonel Aleksandr Poteyev
Sources:
Sources: “Russia; West Intensifies Efforts to Find More Russian Spies in the US and UK…” Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 22 December 2010.
Suspected of being the one who put American authorities onto the illegals
Father was a Hero of the Soviet Union
Worked in NY in the1990s at the UN. Allegedly recruited then. [Draws in part on per New Times, 5/28/11, WNS]
Poteyev was Deputy Chief of the American Illegal Intelligence Department of Directorate S.
Formerly in the Zenit special forces unit during the Afghan War. Also served in Kaskad. [Kaskad per New Times, 5/28/11, WNS]
Defected in June 2010.
Wife and kids were already out of Russia. (Wife longtime in US, kids left Russia shortly before the defection.)