About
Former FBI agent famous for causing what the Department of Justice described as "possibly the worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history." He exposed confidential U.S. documents to the Soviet Union and Russia for over 2 decades. His espionage led to the loss of assets and the complication of countless counterintelligence efforts, as well as the execution of several agents secretly working for the U.S. after he divulged their true identity to the KGB. After a multi-million-dollar investigation, he was arrested on February 18, 2001. On July 6th of the same year, after pleading guilty to 13 counts of espionage and additional counts of conspiracy and attempted espionage, he was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences in prison, without the possibility of parole.
Before Fame
He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Knox College in 1966 before enrolling in dental school at Northwestern University. He later shifted his concentration and earned an MBA in accounting and information systems. After working with an accounting firm for one year, he joined the Chicago Police Department as an internal affairs investigator and forensic accountant until he was hired by the FBI in 1976.
Trivia
Following his arrest, he served his sentence at the ADX Florence supermax prison in Colorado. During his imprisonment, he spent 23 hours a day in solitary confinement until June 5, 2023, when he was found unresponsive in his cell and pronounced dead after efforts to revive him proved unsuccessful.
Family Life
While attending dental school at Northwestern University, he met his wife, Bernadette "Bonnie" Wauck, who was a devout Roman Catholic. He converted to Catholicism, and they married in 1968. Together, they had 6 children - 3 sons and 3 daughters.
Associated With
He was the subject of a made-for-TV movie in 2002 entitled Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story. The screenplay was written by Norman Mailer and he was portrayed by actor William Hurt. He was also the topic of an episode of Spy Wars called "Perfect Traitor," which was narrated by Damian Lewis.
