LEGAL STATUS
Pleaded guilty April 28, 1994. Sentenced to incarceration for life without the possibility of parole, per FBI. Current custody status not checked.1
AS OF 2026-10-20
Case-file story
Timeline
- 1985Begins spying for the Russians, per FBI1
- 1994-02-21Arrested by the FBI in Arlington, Virginia1
- 1994-04-28Ames and his wife plead guilty1
- 1994-11-01Senate Select Committee on Intelligence publishes its assessment2
Verified facts
- At his arrest Ames was a 31-year CIA veteran and a CIA case officer who spoke Russian and specialized in the Russian intelligence services, including the KGB.1
- In debriefings he detailed compromising the identities of CIA and FBI human sources, some of whom were executed by Soviet authorities.1
- His wife, Rosario Ames, was sentenced on October 20, 1994 to 63 months in prison.1
- SSCI: ten Soviet sources of the CIA and FBI were executed as a result of Ames's espionage. He admitted compromising over 100 intelligence operations.3
- SSCI: payments funded a new Jaguar and a $540,000 home bought with cash, on a salary under $70,000. These expenditures had not raised questions at the CIA.3
- SSCI: as of May 1, 1989 he had been paid over $1.8 million by the KGB, with $900,000 more set aside.3
- SSCI: the CIA IG recommended 23 officials be held accountable. 11 received letters of reprimand, and none was fired, demoted, suspended or reassigned.3
- He forfeited his assets under his plea agreement, and $547,000 went to the DOJ Victims Assistance Fund.1
Editorial notes
- Not re-checked: Ames's current custody status. Don't state it.
Sources
- https://www.fbi.gov/history/cases-and-criminals/aldrich-ames · Wayback
- https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/1994/11/01/publications-assessment-aldrich-h-ames-espionage-case-and-its-implications-us-intelligence-november/ · Wayback
- https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/sites-default-filesations-10390.pdf · no archive snapshot yet