Catching a Spy: The Aldrich Ames Case (part 1 of 3)

Part 1 of 3
Dell Spry, a former FBI investigator and counterespionage expert, sits down to discuss the biggest case of insider theft in U.S. History: The Aldrich Ames Case. Hear how he, along with the help of the CIA, and the fellow FBI agents used their cunning, hard work, and old-fashioned investigative work to capture and convict most infamous CIA officer-turned traitor: Aldrich Hazan "Rick" Ames. Beginning in 1985 the CIA experienced the unparalleled loss of its Soviet assets, which nearly destroyed the government's ability to gather intelligence on the Soviet Union. In this interview Mr. Spry discusses his personal involvement in the case as the FBI's lead investigator, including many of the investigative methods they used. Hear never before details about the harrowing investigation to not only investigate and convict the highest-ranking government official ever accused of spying, but to protect future Russian assets. In 1991, the quest led them to search for a Soviet spy in the CIA. They came to identify that spy as CIA Case Officer, Aldrich Hazan "Rick" Ames, a long-time CIA case officer and analyst. In February of 1994, Ames was arrested by the FBI and sentenced to life in prison. About the Speaker: Marvin O. (Dell) Spry received a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the Birmingham School of Law in 1980 and served as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) until his retirement. During his tenure, Dell served with the Department of the Army as the Intelligence Community Outreach Coordinator for the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. While assigned to FBI headquarters, he was a member of the National Security Council Counterterrorism Working Group; the State Department Foreign Emergency Counterterrorism Support Team; the Overseas Advisory Security Council; and was liaison to the CIA Counterintelligence Center - Counterespionage Group. Most notably he was the lead investigator for the FBI in the Aldrich Ames investigation for which he received the FBI Director’s Award for Excellence in a Counterintelligence Investigation and the CIA Director’s Meritorious Service Award. Dell has conducted investigations internationally in his career, and received Letters of Recognition from several countries, including the Republic of Georgia, Germany and the United Kingdom. During investigations in Russia, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Turkey, and Cuba, he established liaison with both the intelligence services and law enforcement services. He also performed humanitarian relief work in Ethiopia, Cambodia, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Sri Lanka. Dell continues to be an adjunct instructor with the FBI teaching new agents and analysts on matters of national security at the FBI Academy.