Intelligence: July 31, 2001

Archives

Highest Ranking Army Spy Convicted- Former US Army Colonel George Trofimoff was convicted of espionage on 26 June. Retired several years ago, Trofimoff faces life in prison. Born of Russian migrs, Trofimoff joined the Army and became a US citizen. He commanded an interrogation unit based in Germany during the Cold War and had access to thousands of files of things the US knew about the Soviets (so that he could cross-check information from other deserters or informers). He sold the Soviets summaries of this information, data which was invaluable to their counter-intelligence efforts. Prosecutors said that the case should deter anyone from spying for a foreign country as their activities will eventually be discovered and justice will be harsh.--Stephen V Cole