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Retired agent Peter Lapp served in the FBI for 22-years. Assigned to the Washington Field Office, he specialized in counterintelligence, espionage, economic espionage, and trade secret theft matters.
In this episode of FBI Retired Case File Review, Pete reviews the espionage investigation of Ana Belen Montes, who was arrested ten days after 9/11 for espionage, and sentenced to 25 years for spying for the Cuban Intelligence Service while she worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency.
The application of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants played a key role in Pete and his senior co-case agent’s ability to gather evidence in this case.
Pete was also the case agent on the theft of trade secrets investigation of MIN Yonggang, who as a former DuPont employee was convicted of misappropriating over $1 billion of the company’s trade secrets. Pete gained inter-agency experience while conducting a joint-duty assignment at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence/Partner Engagement. Later in his career, he was promoted to program manager, and chief of the economic espionage and People’s Republic of China (PRC) espionage units at FBIHQ’s Counterintelligence Division.
Pete conducted hundreds of awareness briefings while at the Washington Field Office to academic, industry, and community groups on the topics of counterintelligence, insider threat, and active shooter.
Pete is the founder of PJ Lapp Consulting, LLC where he now focuses his vast knowledge and experience in counterintelligence and insider risk. He is a widely recognized expert and thought leader in the area of IR. Combining his experience as an investigator and program manager of espionage and economic espionage investigations, Pete is well qualified to provide seasoned advice on how to successfully build your IR program to mitigate reputational risk and protect your critical assets to help companies maintain their competitive advantage.
Pete is the author of Queen of Cuba: An Agent’s Insider Account of the Spy Who Evaded Detection for 17 Years.
Special Agent (Retired)
Peter J. Lapp
May 1998 – Mar 2020
“Every counter intelligence success is a counter intelligence failure. She committed espionage for 16 years before being caught. The damage she did is long lasting and can’t be erased.”—Retired Agent Peter Lapp
The following are links to FBI and news articles about the Ana Montes espionage investigation and information about the use of FISA warrants in national security matters:
FBI Website: Ana Montes: Cuban Spy
CNN “Declassified” – 8/8/2018: The most dangerous U.S. spy you’ve never heard of
Washington Post – 4/18/2014: Ana Montes Did Much Harm Spying For Cuba – Chances Are You Haven’t Heard of Her
Department of Justice – Office of Justice Programs: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA)
Listen to more FBI Retired Case File Review episodes on espionage cases here.
Very convenient (and racist) to assume that her motives were based solely on ethnicity, and ignore her own explanation: She believed US foreign policies were immoral because they’re cruel, perpetuate oppression, and cause the deaths of many people.
It’s unbelievable that the people on this podcast lament the death of a US soldier in the line of duty, but don’t give a hoot about the deaths caused by US policies (e.g., US-supported Salvadoran government and its death squads).
I wish to thank you both for sharing the fascinating story of betrayal.
When I heard Agent(R) Lapp speak to Ana’s insight on Dept. of State and White House concerning Cuba, I was reminded of the Elian Gonzales debacle in 1999. I am willing to bet Ana was in a position to alert Cuba on decisions under consideration by Janet Reno (Justice Department), WH, and State Dept. Given her expertise on Cuba matters, after all she was known as the “Queen of Cuba” in our INTEL community, Ana would have steered or even persuaded our agencies to surrender this young boy to Cuban authorities. Ultimately, the decision to return Elian to Castro cost President Clinton’s Democratic Party-political clout in Florida to this day.
Although this may be an editing effect, early on in Episode 243 Peter Lapp seems to say that the United States during the Reagan administration was supporting the Sandinista rebels in Nicaragua. This is a mistake. Perhaps the unedited interview includes “the opposition to” the Sandinistas.
I’ll ask Pete what he meant to say.
I emailed Pete and he immediatedly sent me this response:
I remember flipping Contras with Sandinistas in the episode. I’ve corrected it in the manuscript but please tell Brad great catch, and thank you. — Pete Lapp
FYI. Pete’s book is now available for pre-order https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Cuba-Insider-Account-Detection/dp/163758959X/
You can watch the CNN ” Declassified ” series which has Ana Montez searching with firestick. I don’t think it’s free , but we’ll worth watching.
There are several different stories with scumbags who betrayed their country.