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George Trofimoff
(March 9, 1927 – September 19, 2014) was a United
States military intelligence officer of Russian descent. He was convicted
in a U.S. federal court of having spied for the Soviet Union during the 1970s and 1980s. He was sentenced to life
imprisonment on September 27, 2001. George
Trofimoff is the most senior officer in U.S. military history to have been
charged with or convicted of espionage.
Background
George Trofimoff
was born in Berlin, Weimar Republic, on March 9, 1927. His paternal
grandfather, Vladimir Ivanovich
Trofimoff, a brigadier general in the Imperial
Russian Army General Staff, had been arrested and shot by the Cheka in 1919. His father, Vladimir Vladimirovich Trofimoff, had
attended the Page Corps military
academy. During the Russian Civil
War, Vladimir had served as a major in the anti-communist White Army. George's mother, Ekaterina Kartali, had been a
successful concert pianist before marrying Major Trofimoff in 1926. (Rank detail: The rank of Brigadier in the Russian Imperial Army was abandoned in the early nineteenth
century, and replaced in the late nineteenth century with the rank of Major-General).
After the death of his wife in 1928, Major Trofimoff
descended into abject poverty. In response, he temporarily sent his son to be
raised by Vladimir and Antonina
Sharavov, both of whom were fellow White emigres. Antonina's son from a
previous marriage was Igor Vladimirovich
Susemihl. Even into his old age, Trofimoff continued to describe Susemihl
as "my brother."
In 1943, Vladimir
Trofimoff remarried and his son moved in with him and his new wife.
However, the family was soon forced to separate again due to Allied bombing
raids on Berlin. They would not meet again until 1949 when George Trofimoff was a U.S. Army
officer assigned to the occupation of Germany.
In the fall of 1944, George
Trofimoff was ordered to report for conscription into the German Army, or Heer (usually conflated with the Wehrmacht or German
Military). Rather than comply, he fled to occupied Czechoslovakia and
remained in hiding near Pilsen until
the end of the Second World War.
Trofimoff then fled the advancing Soviet
Army into the American Zone of
Occupied Germany.
After working as an interpreter for the U.S. Army, Trofimoff made his way illegally to Paris, France. While
staying there, he was embraced by Paris' community of White emigres, many of
whom had known his father and grandfather. Soon after, Trofimoff was sponsored
by the Society of Friends for
emigration to the United States. In December 1947, he boarded a KLM Royal Dutch Airliner and flew from
Amsterdam to New York City.
Trofimoff enlisted in the United States Army in 1948 and received a commission in the United States Army Reserve in 1953. He
received an honorable discharge from active duty in 1956 and retired from the United States Army Reserve with the
rank of colonel in 1987. From 1959 through 1994, Trofimoff was employed by the United States Army as a civilian
working in military intelligence, serving primarily in the Kingdom of Laos and in West Germany.
Espionage
The Order of the Red
Banner
Throughout his career with the United States Army, Trofimoff held Secret and Top Secret
clearances. In 1969, he became the chief of the United States Army Element at the Nuremberg Joint Interrogation Center (JIC). The JIC, a center for
questioning defectors and refugees from the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries, was jointly run
by American, French, and West German intelligence services. Trofimoff had
access to all classified information received by or produced by U.S. Army Intelligence at the JIC.
His indictment states that, following his promotion to head
of the U.S. Army at the JIC, Trofimoff renewed his acquaintance with his foster
brother Igor Susemihl. Under the
monastic name Iriney, Susemihl had
become a hieromonk and a bishop within the Russian
Orthodox Church. After learning that Trofimoff was chronically short of
funds, Bishop Iriney "recruited him
into the service of the KGB." The indictment states that the KGB
possessed several similar collaborators among Moscow Patriarchate clergy, both inside and outside of the USSR.
At the time, Iriney was the auxiliary bishop of Munich and West
Germany, but later became the Metropolitan
of Vienna and Austria in 1975. He continued to hold this position until he died in 1999.
Beginning in the 1960s, Trofimoff and the Metropolitan met
often and maintained a close personal relationship. In a 1999 conversation with
an undercover FBI agent, Trofimoff described his recruitment as follows,
... It must have been
the '70s. But it was very informal. There were no photographs, there was just
talking. He would ask me something and I would tell him something--verbal
information. He had a few questions about current events. First, it was just a
conversation between the two of us. He would ask my opinion on this and
that--then, he would maybe ask me, 'Well, what does your unit think about it?'
Or, 'What does the American government think about it?'"
Upon being asked whether Bishop Iriney's actions made him
suspicious, Trofimoff responded,
No, not in the
beginning. I said I needed money. And I told him my wife bought some furniture
and I can't pay for it, I don't know how to get the money. And he says, 'I tell
you what, I'll loan it to you.' So he gave me, I think, 5,000 marks and then,
it wasn't enough, because I needed more, and about three or four weeks later I
said to him, 'You gotta help me one more time, and I'll give it back to you
when I have a chance.' And that was the end of it. Then he talked to me a
couple times. Always like this. Then he says, 'Well, you know, I'll tell you
what. You don't owe me any money. And if you need some more, I can give you
some more. Don't worry about it. You're going to have to have a few things,
this and that.' And this is how it started.
In 1999, Trofimoff boasted that he routinely smuggled every
classified document he could obtain home to be photographed with a special
camera and tripod. The film was passed on to KGB agents during meetings in
Austria. According to former KGB General
Oleg Kalugin, however, Trofimoff, who was given the codename "Markiz," always received his
money from Iriney. Trofimoff traveled frequently to Austria to meet Iriney and
other KGB operatives, according to the indictment.
Trofimoff further explained that Iriney paid him a standard
amount of 7,000 Deutschmarks per week. The payments were always made in used
bills and when Trofimoff needed more money toward a down payment on his house,
Iriney "went to his contact in
Moscow," and returned with 90,000 DM. This sum was then worth 40,000
American dollars.
In 2001, Kalugin testified under oath to having invited
Iriney to visit his dacha in 1978. According to Kalugin "He did good work, particularly in recruiting Markiz. I wanted to
thank him for what he had done."
In 1999, Trofimoff further explained that Iriney ordered him
to cease his espionage work for the KGB in 1987. According to Trofimoff "he told me to destroy the camera, so I
smashed it with a hammer and I threw it in the garbage, far away."
The German BKA, the FBI, and U.S. federal prosecutors allege
that Trofimoff was paid $250,000throughoutf his espionage career.
According to Kalugin, Trofimoff was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner, which he describes as the USSR's "highest military award for meritorious
and dangerous service." Kalugin further states "After all, he deserved the award for the work he did for
us."
Arrest in Germany
In 1992, a retired KGB archivist named Vasili Mitrokhin defected to the United Kingdom, taking with him thousands
of pages of classified papers and handwritten notes on KGB operations at home
and abroad. Major Mitrokhin's information included evidence that a NATO
interrogation center was being compromised by a mole, codenamed "Markiz". He handed over KGB
records that showed classified documents that exceeded 80 volumes – 50,000
pages taken over 25 years. Mitrokhin did not have a name, but he was able to
produce a vague sketch of the traitor. Furthermore, the Soviet files he
delivered described the spy as a "career
American intelligence officer", and the courier who carried the
secrets as a Russian Orthodox "clergyman".
On December 14, 1994, Trofimoff and Iriney were arrested and
interrogated by the German Federal
Police, or Bundeskriminalamt,
based on the mentioned sketch. While in custody, Trofimoff was informed by his
commanding officer that his security clearance and pension had both been
revoked. Shortly thereafter, Trofimoff and Iriney were brought before Bernhard Bode, a judge of the Federal Court of Justice of Germany, for
a preliminary hearing. During the hearing, Iriney admitted to having loaned
Trofimoff money but denied having links to the KGB. He did admit, however,
that "The KGB was everywhere, also
in the Church". Iriney also admitted to having "a very strong, personal relationship", with his female
housekeeper, Gudula Walker.
As Germany's espionage laws have a five-year statute of
limitations, Bode refused to file charges. As a result, both Trofimoff and
Iriney were released. Trofimoff's fifth wife, Jutta Trofimoff, was devastated by her husband's arrest. She later
recalled "I had no knowledge of any
spying activities by George. I was completely surprised by his arrest and as
soon as he got home that morning I asked him to tell me truthfully what
happened. He said, 'I swear on my mother's and father's graves that I did
nothing'". Jutta Trofimoff further stated, "If I had any doubt that he was telling me the truth I would have
divorced him on the spot".
After this short vindication, George and Jutta Trofimoff left Germany to retire in a gated
community in Melbourne, Florida.
Retirement
In Florida, Trofimoff was unable to control his spending.
According to Colonel Andy Byers, who
lived in the same gated community, Trofimoff also loved to entertain his new
neighbors with gourmet meals and fine wine. Trofimoff later recalled "... we had therefore acquired
considerable debts, especially on the so-readily available credit cards. I have
to admit that I was the person responsible for getting us into this hole. Jutta
kept cautioning me, but I just didn't want to listen to reason and thought to
be smart enough to get us out of this dilemma. I took out a second mortgage on
the house, which temporarily relieved the burden ... but only temporarily."
Their debts were compounded when Trofimoff insisted on
buying a new Chrysler automobile despite his wife's insistence that they could
not afford it. Trofimoff was soon reduced to bagging groceries in a local
supermarket in the vain hope of getting out of debt.
According to Byers, Trofimoff repeatedly said of
Metropolitan Iriney, “My brother tells me
he will leave money for me when he dies. He says it will be difficult to send
and it will have to come through Church channels."
The sting
Beginning on July 10, 1997, FBI Agent Dmitri Droujinsky contacted Trofimoff, seeking a meeting.
Special Agent Droujinsky, a fellow Russian American, had spent his career
impersonating a KGB operative to trick suspected moles into confessing
their guilt. In 1988, Droujinsky had successfully finessed a confession from
U.S. Army warrant officer James Hall III, who had been spying for both the KGB
and the East German Stasi.
Giving his name as "Igor
Galkin", an SVR agent assigned to the Russian Embassy, Droujinsky told Trofimoff that a defecting analyst
had stolen or destroyed most of his file. In exchange for Trofimoff's
assistance in rebuilding it, Droujinsky offered to compensate him financially.
Although Trofimoff was originally deeply skeptical about the
offer, Droujinsky finally succeeded in gaining his trust. On February 24, 1999,
Trofimoff met with Droujinsky inside the Comfort Inn in Melbourne, Florida. As
video tapes rolled, Trofimoff made detailed descriptions of his services for
the KGB and his desperate need for more money. As a rationalization of his
conduct, Trofimoff said,
In response, Droujinsky promised that the SVR would assist
Trofimoff financially, but warned that it would take time.
On May 10, 2000, Droujinsky telephoned Trofimoff after a
silence lasting five months. When Trofimoff said that he had believed himself
to have been forgotten, Droujinsky responded
"No, no. We did not forget you, George. Listen, George, I have good news
for you ... Everything has been approved ... And we're finalizing the last of
the details. And can I meet you in Tampa on June 14? ... I will call you about
one week before that ... to tell you exactly what time and place."
Deeply moved, Trofimoff responded, "Oh, Igor, you're, uh, saving my life ... I was ready to put a
bullet in my head ... Wonderful ... I thank you very much ... Bye-Bye."
On June 14, 2000, Trofimoff arrived at the Tampa International Airport Hilton Hotel
to meet Droujinsky, who had promised to give him $20,000 in cash. Instead,
Trofimoff was arrested by the FBI and charged with espionage. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry Furr "Droujinsky's work was masterful. This
guy's the finest undercover agent I've ever seen. There's no one close to him
... He's an artist like Beethoven."
Trial and conviction
The trial of George
Trofimoff began at the Sam E.
Gibbons U.S. Courthouse in Tampa on June 4, 2001.
Assistant United
States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Donna Bucella "declined to estimate the damage wrought"
by Trofimoff's suspected spying, stating that "several factors suggested a major security breach, including the
sensitivity of the Nuremberg center, a NATO facility staffed by Germans,
British, French, and Americans; ... Trofimoff's clearance to view virtually any
documents, and his longevity in the job."
His court trial was unprecedented in that a witness for the
prosecution was former KGB General Oleg
Kalugin, who had been head of the foreign counterintelligence, or K branch,
of the KGB First Chief Directorate. Upon being asked whether he knew the name
of Agent "Markiz," Kalugin responded "Yes. I did. His name was George Trofimoff." General
Kalugin further described his own alleged meeting with Col. Trofimoff at a
location in Austria.
Another witness for the prosecution was former U.S. Marine Clayton Lonetree, who testified about his own
experiences with the KGB's recruiting techniques.
On June 26, 2001, a Federal jury in Tampa, Florida,
convicted Trofimoff of spying for the Soviet Union. The jury foreman, Mark King, later said that an innocent man would have
informed the FBI upon being contacted by "Galkin."
King also said of Trofimoff "He
often seemed to be lying. His story did not jibe."
Despite his attorney's plea for leniency, Trofimoff was then
sentenced to life imprisonment.
Following his conviction, Trofimoff continued to maintain
his innocence until the day he died. Trofimoff said he had always been a loyal
U.S. Army officer and "a patriot
that served this country for 46 years and a half or 47 years." He also
recanted his admission of espionage to Agent Droujinsky, saying he only made
himself out to be a spy to obtain money from the Russian Orthodox Church. Trofimoff claimed to have believed
Droujinsky would help him only if he were in such a dire situation.
Death
George Vladimirovich
Trofimoff died at the United States
Penitentiary, Victorville, on September 19, 2014.
Other notable
American moles
Other agents in place in the US Government or military, who worked as a mole for either the KGB
or the SVR, include:
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.
Aldrich Ames – A
CIA mole who sold highly classified information between 1985 and 1994 to the
Soviet Union and then Russia.
Robert Hanssen –
Spied for the Soviet Union and Russia for 22 of his 27 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Earl Edwin Pitts
– An FBI agent charged with providing Top
Secret documents to the Soviet Union and then Russia from 1987 until 1992.
Harold James
Nicholson – A senior-ranking Central
Intelligence Agency officer who spied for Russia in 1994, and was arrested
while attempting to take Top Secret
documents out of the country.
Further reading
Andy Byers, The Imperfect Spy: The Inside Story of a
Convicted Spy, Vandamere Press, 2005.
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