Episode 031: Mike Rochford – FBI Betrayal, Robert Hanssen

JERRI WILLIAMS iTUNES

In this episode, retired agent Mike Rochford reviews the investigation of FBI agent Robert Hanssen, considered the most damaging spy in FBI history. Mike recruited the source, a Russian agent of the KGB/SVR, who provided the information that led to Hanssen’s identification. For this effort, Mike received the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement from the CIA.

Mike Rochford served in the FBI for 30 years, five years as a clerical employee and Russian translator, and 25 as a special agent. Prior to his retirement, Mike was Section Chief of the Espionage Section. Based on his language skill, Mike worked Foreign Counter Intelligence (FCI) cases for most of his career. While assigned as a supervisor at FBI Headquarters and in the field, he oversaw such cases as Aldrich Ames and Earl Pitts, and worked to identity six unknown subjects, government spies the FBI and CIA had been for years trying to uncover. One of those “unsubs” was eventually identified as FBI agent Robert Hanssen.

Section Chief (Retired)

Michael T. Rochford

6/24/1974 – 8/4/2004

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The following are links to an FBI overview of the Robert Hanssen investigation and a video of Mike speaking about the Hanssen case at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D. C.

FBI Website Famous Cases and Criminals – Robert Hanssen

International Spy Museum – Investigation of Robert Hanssen (video)

Robert Hanssen is considered the most damaging spy in FBI history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Members of the team who received the Attorney General award represented all the Bureau employees who had worked on the Hanssen investigation, including the case agents, surveillance team, and technical personnel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Steve Kappes, Deputy Director of CIA congratulates Mike Rochford after he received a CIA Citation for recruiting the asset who helped identify Robert Hanssen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mike Rochford with former FBI Director Robert Mueller. Ironically, Mueller was the CIA official Mike initially debriefed about the identification of Hanssen as an FBI spy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike received this Citation from the CIA for his pivotal role in the Hanssen investigation. He recruited the source, a Russian agent of the KGB/SVR, who provided the information that led to Hanssen’s identification.

 

 

 

 

 

Jerri Williams

View posts by Jerri Williams
Jerri Williams, a retired FBI agent, author and podcaster, jokes that she writes about the FBI to relive her glory days. After 26 years with the Bureau specializing in major economic fraud and corruption investigations, she calls on her professional encounters with scams and schemers to write police procedurals inspired by true crime FBI cases in her Philadelphia FBI Corruption Squad crime fiction series featuring flawed female FBI agent Kari Wheeler. Jerri’s FBI for Armchair Detectives nonfiction series enables readers to discover who the FBI is and what the FBI does by debunking misconceptions about the FBI in books, TV, and movies. Her books are available as ebooks, paperbacks, and audiobooks wherever books are sold. She’s also the host of FBI Retired Case File Review, a true crime podcast with more than 300 episodes available on all popular podcast apps and YouTube.

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