Brian Patrick Regan
MSgt. Brian Patrick Regan United States Air Force | |
---|---|
Born |
New York City, New York | October 23, 1962
Service/branch | United States Air Force |
Years of service | 1980–2000 |
Rank | Master Sergeant |
Unit | Air Force Intelligence Support Group at the Pentagon |
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][2]
Biography
He was born October 23, 1962 in New York City, New York.
From July 1995 to August 2000, Regan worked as a USAF assignee at the National Reconnaissance Office in Chantilly, Virginia, and was a signals intelligence specialist.[2][3] In October 2000, he was hired by TRW, but brought back to NRO and monitored. In 1999, he had begun downloading data from Intelink, and in total removed 15,000 pages, CD-ROMs and videotapes from NRO.[4] 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.[3][5]
In August 2001, Regan was arrested by the FBI at Dulles International Airport, preparing to board a flight to Zürich. He was carrying classified documents and contact information for Iraqi, Libyan, and Chinese embassies in Switzerland.[2] His trial began in January 2003, and 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 following month, he 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. Instead, he was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in March of that year.[2][3]
He is currently incarcerated at the U.S. Penitentiary in Lee County, Virginia.[6]
Trivia
- Comedian Brian Regan made a joke referencing their shared name on his DVD Brian Regan: Standing Up.
References
- ↑ Yudhijit Bhattacharjee (October 13, 2016). "The Spy We Forgot". New York Times.
- 1 2 3 4 "Life Sentence For Bid to Sell Secrets to Iraq". New York Times. 21 March 2003. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
- 1 2 3 "American Spy Cuts Deal, Gets Life". CBS News. 13 January 2003. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
- ↑ "Brian Regan Facts (DNI Briefing: SCI Today)". Special Security Office, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-2, Pentagon. July 2007. Archived from the original on 13 October 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ↑ "Ex-sergeant gets life for trying to sell secrets to Iraq, China". Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
- ↑ "Brian Patrick Regan". Locate a Federal Inmate. Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
External links
- Espionage case of former sergeant in hands of jury - CNN
- The Spy Who Couldn't Spell: A Dyslexic Traitor, An Unbreakable Code And The FBI's Hunt For America's Stolen Secrets
- The Guardian Long Read Audio. The spy who couldn’t spell: how the biggest heist in the history of US espionage was foiled.