Brian Patrick Regan (born October 23, 1962, in New York City, New York) is a former master sergeant in the United States Air Force who was convicted of offering to sell secret information to foreign governments.[1]
MSgt. Brian Patrick Regan
United States Air Force | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Spy Who Couldn't Spell |
| Born | October 23, 1962 New York City, New York |
| Service/ |  United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1980–2000 |
| Rank | Master Sergeant |
| Unit | Air Force Intelligence Support Group at the Pentagon |
| Battles/wars | Gulf War |
Biography edit
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He was born October 23, 1962, in New York City, New York. His childhood has been characterised as a difficult one; due to having dyslexia and having an "odd" personality, he was frequently bullied and ridiculed by classmates and children in his neighbourhood.[2]
Espionage activity edit
From July 1995 to August 2000, Regan worked as a USAF assignee at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in Chantilly, Virginia, and was a signals intelligence specialist.[3][4] He was forced into retirement in August 2000, having failed to accept an overseas deployment.[5] In October 2000, he was hired by TRW Inc., but brought back to NRO and monitored.[6] In 1999, he had begun downloading data from Intelink, and in total removed 20,000 pages, CD-ROMs and videotapes from NRO.[5] Regan's financial situation, a rift in his marriage, as well as the realization he would not be promoted again, eventually gave him the idea to commit espionage to make money.[7] According to prosecutors, he had credit card debts of $117,000 and wrote a letter to Saddam Hussein offering to sell intelligence material for $13 million. He also made similar offers to Libya and China.[4][8] He buried the majority of the stolen documents in several forests.[5]
The plot was first discovered in December 2000, when an informant from the Libyan Consulate in New York handed the FBI a series of letters.[9][5] The letters contained a letter written in a code Regan had created, as well as details on how to decode the letter, as well as code sheets.[10] Each envelope also contained aerial images taken by US satellites of military sites in the Middle East, as well as other imagery to prove he wasn't bluffing.[5] After narrowing the search down to Regan due in part to his dyslexia,[11] FBI agent Steve Carr and other investigators began investigating him in April 2001.[5] Upon his return to the NRO, cameras observed him using his work computer to again access Intelink files, with agents observing him taking notes.[12] In August 2001, Regan was arrested by the FBI at Dulles International Airport, preparing to board a flight to Zürich, Switzerland.[13] He was carrying classified documents and contact information for Iraqi, Libyan, and Chinese embassies in Switzerland hidden in his shoes.[3][12] In February 2002, he pleaded not guilty to the charges.[14]
Jury selection for the trial began in January 2003,[15][16] with potential jurors required to fill in questionnaires asking their opinions on crime, espionage, the September 11 attacks, and the death penalty.[17] Regan's lawyers had attempted to delay the trial due to the potential invasion of Iraq.[18] Prosecutors sought the death penalty, the first time it would have been used for espionage since Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed by electric chair in 1953; the death penalty for espionage had been reinstated in 1994, but had not yet been sought on 10 prior occasions.[19][20] The prosecution called upon FBI code expert Daniel Olson to testify as to the secret messages Regan had attempted to send to Iraq and Libya; Olson described the code as "sophisticated".[21] Regan's attorney Jonathan Shapiro argued that the information Regan had used was "worthless" and described his actions as merely "bad judgment".[20][22] Lawyer Nina Ginsberg argued that no serious foreign power would have dealt with him.[23] The following month, Regan was found guilty on two counts of attempted espionage and one of gathering national defense information, but the jury declined to impose the death penalty.[24] He was acquitted of the charge of attempting to spy for Libya.[25] He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in March of that year.[3] Regan's wife Anette avoided prosecution for attempting to cover up his actions.[26]
Five months after the conclusion of the trial, FBI agents began searching for the classified documents.[27] Highly sensitive documents would be discovered in the states of Maryland and Virginia, with over 10,000 assorted papers, videos, and CD-ROMs found; two anonymous sources believed all the hidden material had been found.[28][29] He is currently incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution, Hazelton in Preston County, West Virginia.[30] In 2016, journalist Yudhijit Bhattacharjee released a book about Regan and his capture titled The Spy Who Couldn't Spell: A Dyslexic Traitor, an Unbreakable Code, and the FBI's Hunt for America's Stolen Secrets.[11]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit (October 13, 2016). "The Spy We Forgot". The New York Times.
- ^ Martin, Michel; Wertheimer, Linda (19 November 2016). "How Misspellings Caught A Spy". NPR. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ a b c "Life Sentence For Bid to Sell Secrets to Iraq". The New York Times. 21 March 2003. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
- ^ a b "American Spy Cuts Deal, Gets Life". CBS News. 13 January 2003. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit (26 October 2016). "The spy who couldn't spell: how the biggest heist in the history of US espionage was foiled". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "Sources: Suspect Spied For Libya". CBS News. 24 August 2001. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit (18 March 2019). "The Hoarder Who Tried to Spy for Saddam". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "Espionage case of former master sergeant in hands of jury". CNN. 11 February 2003. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ Bhattacharjee, Yudhijit (1 November 2019). "How the FBI tracked down 'the spy who couldn't spell'". CNN. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ Locker, Ray (29 October 2016). "This would-be spy was no James Bond". USA Today. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ a b Schneider, Harold (22 December 2016). "Treason the Easy Way". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ a b Briggs, Johnathon E.; Gibson, Gail (25 August 2001). "Bowie man held as spy". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "Former US airman on spy charge". BBC News. 25 August 2001. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "US intelligence agent denies spying". BBC News. 15 February 2002. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "Major US spy trial opens". BBC News. 13 January 2003. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ Monaghan, Elaine (14 January 2003). "Spy trial starts". The Times. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ Buncombe, Andrew (14 January 2003). "US prosecutors seek death penalty for former sergeant accused of spying". The Independent. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "Retired Air Force Sergeant Accused of Spying Is Going to Trial". The New York Times. 13 January 2003. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ Lumpkin, Beverley (17 January 2003). "Death Penalty for an Attempted Crime?". ABC News. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ a b Sullivan, Laura (28 January 2003). "Spy trial opens, could result in death penalty". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "FBI Code Expert Testifies in Regan Espionage Case". Los Angeles Times. 6 February 2003. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ Murphy, Jarrett (3 February 2003). "Prosecutors: Accused Spy Wanted $13M". CBS News. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ Burkeman, Oliver (22 February 2003). "Jury considers death for American spy". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "Convicted Spy Dodges Death Penalty". CBS News. 29 March 2003. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ Monaghan, Elaine (21 February 2003). "US traitor who offered to spy for Iraq faces death". The Times. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ Markon, Jerry (28 April 2003). "Coded Messages Add to Mystery Of a Failed Spy". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ Thomas, Pierre; Moritz, Risa (28 July 2003). "FBI Digging for Documents". ABC News. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "FBI digs up secret documents in spy case". CNN. 28 July 2003. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ Monaghan, Elaine (30 July 2003). "Would be spy's stolen data is recovered". The Times. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "Brian Patrick Regan". Locate a Federal Inmate. Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 22 June 2018.