Aldrich H. Ames is remembered as one of the most damaging traitors in the history of American intelligence. A man who sold secrets to his adversaries for money, resulting in the deaths of at least ten agents. Yet, according to declassified documents, Ames was not a master manipulator. Rather, he was a mediocre official, with a drinking problem, who surprisingly managed to elude the security net thanks to the blind spots of a bureaucratic system.
In 1993, he brought with him a laptop staff at a drug conference in Turkey. The device contained highly classified files, including a folder called “VLAD” – the code name for his KGB contact. A colleague, using the laptop for fun, stumbled upon the files and reported it. However, security protocols focused on corporate networks, overlooking the vulnerabilities of personal devices.
At home, Ames kept draft messages intended for the KGB, complete with passwords. A later internal review described this as a employee at risk, whose behavior should have triggered more than one alarm. Among the overlooked signals:
► chronic alcohol abuse, famous for his “liquid lunches” in Mexico City, followed by naps in the office;
► a serious breach in 1976, when he forgot a briefcase full of classified documents in the New York subway;
► repeated disregard for internal procedures, especially in the preparation of reports and financial statements.
As a former colleague recalled: “His sloppiness didn’t seem out of place for someone whose career was stalling.”
The Polygraph Failure
In 1986, during a routine polygraph test, Ames gave suspicious answers to questions about his contacts with foreign intelligence. He justified himself by saying that he was simply anxious at the thought of being approached by the KGB, given his imminent transfer to Rome.
In 1991, a new test proved even more of a failure for the Agency:
- the examiner did not have all the key information;
- the questions, although technically correct, were operationally ineffective.
The polygraph program had meanwhile evolved to favor speed over depth, allowing Ames to exploit semantic ambiguities and internal divisions.
The Cover-up of the "Rich Colombian Heiress"
When Ames began flaunting a lifestyle well above his salary—with luxury cars, foreign bank accounts, and vacation homes—his explanation was simple: his Colombian wife Rosario's inheritance. No one seemed to seriously question the story, despite Rosario's mother's humble circumstances. A colleague, watching him buy a house for cash, quipped: “His uncle must really love him!”
Aldrich Hazen Ames was arrested by the FBI in Arlington, Virginia, on espionage charges on February 21, 1994.
At the time of his arrest, Ames was a veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with 31 years of service, who had been spying for the Russians since 1985. His wife, Rosario Ames, who had aided and abetted his spying activities, was also arrested with him. They both pleaded guilty on April 28, 1994.
Aldrich Ames was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Rosario Ames was sentenced on October 20, 1994, to 63 months in prison.
Conclusion
According to the Senate committee, Ames was not an exceptional agent. His real skill was to systematically recognize and exploit every flaw in the system: a mediocre who, in the right context, managed to commit an extraordinary betrayal.
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Photo: FBI
