Some of us still remember the Cold War. But you may not know about “William Kampiles: double-agent.” In 1978 the Chicago native was a new CIA watch officer who decided merely filing top-secret reports wasn’t enough. He quit after seven months to prove they should rehire him as a superspy.
Just before quitting, the 23-year-old stole the manual to the new KH-11 spy satellite. Investigative journalist William Safire said it could read a Moscow license plate from orbit, and was essential to verify Soviet compliance with strategic arms treaties.
After stealing the manual, Kampiles flew to Greece and sold it to the Russian spy agency GRU for $3000. He thought by gaining their trust he’d show the CIA he was the perfect double-agent. He said he conned the Russians out of the money in exchange for future information, but they already knew he’d sold the real thing. Former CIA agent Roland Inlow said this stunt gave the Soviets all they needed to know about the top-secret KH-11.
Instead of a great job offer, William Kampiles was charged with six counts of espionage against the United States. (It’s a pretty easy case when the defendant rats himself out.) The feds offered a generous plea deal of twelve years in prison, which he refused. He was quickly convicted and got forty years.
Who was dumber, the young Mr. Kampiles or the CIA for giving a newbie access to our nation’s secrets? This was a tumultuous time for American intelligence. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said at the time, “on balance we indict more intelligence officers than we do spies...”
Eventually, the Cold War ended, along with any enthusiasm for keeping William Kampiles behind bars. Even the prosecutor agreed to parole him after 18 years of good behavior. Today, he is a much older and wiser man.
I’m Jeff Gentry
Best reference:
Safire, W. (1978, September 7). Questions on three big stories: A missile, a scandal, a stolen secret. The Washington Star, n.p. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81M00980R000400090019-9.pdf
Dumb Ideas that Changed the World copyright 2024 by Jeff Gentry. All rights reserved.