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President Obama, cheeseburgers in tow, stressed last week during his meetings with the Russian president that there had been a real thaw in relations with the United States' former Cold War adversary.
Less than a week later, the Department of Justice announced today the arrests of 10 men and women, from Virginia to Boston, accused of spying for Russia.
NBC's Robert Windrem reports that the complaint in today's indictment and round up of the suspected agents details a spy novel-like operation that includes false identities, secret communications, money and document handoffs in heavily trafficked areas of New York City like Grand Central Station and Central Park. Some of those arrested have lived undercover in the United States for 20 years.
Those arrested were described by the Justice Department as "deep cover" agents operating on behalf of the SVR, the successor to the KGB.
One law enforcement official described today's takedown as "historic", the rounding up of the SVR's entire "illegals" program.
The complaint does not allege they were involved in espionage but imply they had been set up to carry out intelligence gathering.
They were sent to the United States and told not to get government jobs but to set themselves up as "normal citizens," the official said. They were tasked to get in touch with "influential" Americans -- college professors, contractors, congressional staffers.
The Russians, trained and directed from "Moscow Center," were given Americanized names. The defendants known as "Richard Murphy" and "Cynthia Murphy" from Montclair, N.J., Vicky Pelaez and the defendant known as "Juan Lazaro" were living in Yonkers, N.Y., Anna Chapman was living in Manhattan. In addition, other defendants were known as "Donald Howard Heathfield" and "Tracey Lee Ann Foley" lived in Boston. A defendant known as "Christopher R. Metsos" remains at large.
Eight of the ten arrested posed as married couples.
WNBC's Jonathan Dienst reports, at least some of them are expected to face arraignment this afternoon in federal court in New York City and Alexandria, Va.
*** UPDATE *** More from Windrem: How do Russian spies identify each other?
According the complaint, one way sounds a lot like it was stolen from a BAD spy novel.
As part of an elaborate plan to hand-off a phony passport on a New York park bench, one party was supposed to ask the other, "Excuse me, but haven't we met in California, last summer." To that the second party was to respond, "No, I think it was the Hamptons."
At that point, the passport was to be turned over.
The complaint also details how the group was provided tens of thousands of dollars to carry out its mission. In addition, the SVR approved the purchase of a house in Montclair, NJ that was used by the key couple named in the complaint.
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Yikes, some of those arrested have been living in the US for 20 years! Europeans don't need no stinkin' papers. Come on in, enjoy yourself, spy, do whatever you want, you look like "main stream".
...As we rail against our neighbors to the south!
Good point.
"Nobody does it better ...."
Ooops. Thaw is right ... a la "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold."
The age 'ol question - It seems we stood and talked like this before...we looked at each other in the same way then, but I can't remember where or when...
Now we know. - California!
I know a Lee
I know an Ann
I know a Lee Ann
I know a Tracy
I know a Foley
But I don't know a Lee Ann Tracy Foley
Whew!
20 years, huh?
Well, I'm glad President Obama is getting out for cheeseburgers. After reading some of the posts on here lately, I'd have thought he was too snowed under with golf games and Paul McCartney concerts to have time to eat!
(Hey, Domenico, I know everyone keeps asking for a larger and/or darker font here - can I put in a request for a sarcasm font while we're at it?)
MACDONALD BANK is filing a $22,000,000,000; J. Paul Getty war crimes lawsuit in Washington, based on Getty's support for Hitler.
Re: J. Paul Getty; FBI File 100.1202, June 26, 1940, Espionage; 2003 documents declassified by UK Warfare Ministry reveal that in Oct. 1941 the pro-Nazi Jean Paul Getty employed and lodged Nazis at his Pierre Hotel; Nazis who were involved in spying on and sabotaging Allied Forces' war production plants.
43,000 people were killed in the UK while J. Paul Getty was in Berlin still shipping oil to Hitler five months before Pearl Harbor … December 7, 1941. J.P. Getty was investing in German government bonds. Jean Paul Getty's mother; Catherine Risher was German. As aristocrats with treasures of art were executed -- beginning in 1933 -- with the outbreak of war; Getty assiduously added to his vast collection with the Nazis.
MACDONALD BANK ON BEHALF OF KEIR. G. MACDONALD & WWII VETERANS
- v. –
J. PAUL GETTY TRUST; GORDON GETTY; RONALD GETTY; J. PAUL GETTY JR. ESTATE; MARK GETTY; ANNE GETTY EARHART; CLAIRE GETTY PERRY; CAROLINE GETTY; U.S. GOV. HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI; ISOLEP ENTERPRISES; SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM; WILLIAM A. NEWSOM; LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART & FORWARD FUNDS INC.
Interesting and coincidentally ironic. Did you know there is at least a tenuous current connection between Getty Oil and BP?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getty_Oil
Anna Molly
Interesting and coincidentally ironic. Did you know there is at least a tenuous current connection between Getty Oil and BP?
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and how about those 900K connections to Obama...dollars that is
Surprise!! I'm not a fan of that, either. But then I would favor public campaign financing. Would you?
Hell, Oilbama and his cohorts are now turning against their own, socialists prying out their matty socialists as spies. The Stalinists don't trust each other. Heeheh. Spies? Or is this an attempt to break the American people's attention from the disaster in the gulf caused by the Disastocrats? I think so. Then, we have Move On. Org with a classic Soviet style turnabout. Just like Stalin and the Communists during WWII did the abrupt turnabout when his buddy Hitler hit him with Barbarossa, the Communists in America did a 90 degree turnabout from their erstwhile allies. Moveon. Org, quietly slid its General Betrayus poster and campaign in an abrupt turn reminiscent of their buddy Stalin. What a bunch of stupid socialists who want to subvert and conquer America!
Chilled, There is no other race in the US could come in from the cold like a main stream one. They're classic. Anyhow, seems like a detour from the present disaster by the Disastocrats to make us lose attention from the present problem. Holder couldn't even catch a fly.