Russian Spy Cases at a Glance

(June 29) -- Cold War spy tools like fake names, coded messages and invisible ink were back in the news as federal authorities accused 11 people of belonging to a Russian spy ring. Many of the suspects blended in with American life, holding jobs and having children. A look at other Russian spy cases through the decades:

_ Ethel and Julius Rosenberg: The New York couple proclaimed their innocence but were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage and executed at Sing Sing prison, in Ossining, N.Y., on June 19, 1953, in the nation's most infamous Cold War spy case. They were accused of passing U.S. atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Union and became the first civilians executed for espionage in the nation's history.

_ Rudolf Abel: A Russian colonel, he was apprehended in New York in 1957. Abel, who used hollowed-out nickels to hide information on microfilm, was convicted in 1957 on all charges and sentenced to prison. Five years later, he was swapped for Francis Gary Power, an American pilot being held prisoner of the Soviet Union.

_ John Walker Jr.: A Navy warrant officer and communications specialist since 1967, he was arrested in May 1985 after a tip from his ex-wife, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. The FBI says he gave top cryptographic secrets to the Soviet Union for more than 17 years and left at least 1 million secret messages vulnerable.

_ Ronald William Pelton: A former communications specialist with the National Security Agency, he had money problems and offered to sell secrets to the Soviets. The FBI says he gave classified information to them for five years. He was arrested in November 1985, convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

_ Aldrich Ames: A 31-year veteran of the CIA, Ames was arrested on espionage charges on Feb. 24, 1994, along with his wife. Ames, who spoke Russian, was accused of spying for Russia since 1985. He handed over classified information about CIA and FBI "human sources." He and his wife pleaded guilty, and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

_ Harold James Nicholson: A former CIA employee, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison for a 1997 conviction for conspiring to commit espionage for the Russian Federation. He was indicted last year, along with his son, Nathaniel Nicholson, on charges of conspiracy, acting as agents of a foreign government and money laundering. Authorities say the son met with Russian representatives and collected money owed to his father for his past work.

_ Robert Hanssen: A longtime FBI counterintelligence agent, he pleaded guilty to 15 espionage-related charges in 2001 and was sentenced to life in prison. He was accused of giving highly classified national security information to the Soviet Union and later Russia in exchange for diamonds and more than $600,000.

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Other Russian Spy Cases at a Glance

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