William Kampiles
| William Kampiles | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 21, 1954 |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Vasili, Billy |
| Occupation | CIA Clerk |
| Known for | Cold War - Stole a top-secret American KH-11 spy satellite manual and sold it to the Soviet. |
William Peter Kampiles, born on December 21, 1954, was a Central Intelligence Agency employee during the Cold War.
Early life
Kampiles was born into an immigrant family. Kampiles grew up in Hegewisch, on the far south side of Chicago. Kampiles' family was poor and lived in a small rental apartment. Kampiles was an arrogant young man with dreams of becoming wealthy.
Career
Kampiles was disappointed with his low-ranking status as a CIA clerk, and he decided to steal a top-secret KH-11 spy satellite manual from his employers in 1977 for monetary gain. In November 1977, Kampiles resigned from his job from CIA in Langley, Virginia. [1]
Espionage and Prison
Kampiles flew to Greece, and sold the manual to the Soviet embassy in Athens in return for $3,000. Kampiles subsequently returned to the United States and informed his former CIA bosses of what he had done, in the mistaken belief that he would be recruited as a double agent; instead, he was charged with espionage by the US Government, put on trial in 1978, and convicted. He was arrested before he could leave the country with his mother. He had told friends he had plans to buy a restaurant/bar in Athens and had purchased tickets for himself and his mother. He was originally sentenced on November 17, 1978, to 40 years imprisonment; however, his prison sentence was later reduced to 19 years, and he was released on 16 December 1996, after serving 18 years as Federal Prison inmate "04028-164".[2][3]
See also
- Samuel Loring Morison - An intelligence analyst who provided KH-11 photographs to the Jane's Fighting Ships publication and was convicted of espionage.
- James Hall III – An Army warrant officer and intelligence analyst in Germany who sold eavesdropping and code secrets to East Germany and the Soviet Union from 1983 to 1988.
- George Trofimoff – a then retired Army Reserve colonel, who was charged in June 2000 with spying for the KGB and the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (or SVR) for over 25 years.
- John Anthony Walker – An American communications specialist who was convicted of spying
- Aldrich Ames - an ex-CIA agent convicted of spying for Russia
- Noshir Gowadia - an ex-employee of Northrop who sold classified B-2 stealth technology to China
- KH-11 Kennen satellite manufactured by Lockheed.
- List of American spies
References
- ↑ Zimmer, Robert Lee (November 13, 1978) "CIA Official Testifies at Spy Trial". JonathanPollard.org. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ↑ "The Kampiles Case". JonathanPollard.org. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
- ↑ "Record of William Peter Kampiles". Inmate Locator. Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 30 December 2010.