Hearing the word spy, most people think back to the cold war and the fall of Russia or maybe some people think of some popular spy movies like the borne series. Let me tell you that the word spy should still bring up images of shadowy figures and crooked government employees, the kind of people that will sell their government, friends, or information for any amount of cash to the right people.
These spies are still active in the U.S. even though we do not hear about them in the news often but they are still here and busy spying. This blog is to let you who read it, realize that spies and spying is still common in the U.S and the world as it was during the cold war. To make this case, I found a press release from U.S Department of Justice that informs the public of a father / son duo that has been cough in the act of espionage. The charges brought against this father / son team are two counts of Conspiracy, one count of Acting as Agents of a Foreign Government, and four counts of Money Laundering. The father was using his son to pass information to agents of the Russian Federation, while the father is in prison, serving time for passed espionage activities. The father was a senior CIA officer that was charged with conspiracy to commit espionage in 1997. The father used his son to pass information and collect dues from past activities. this team was active for about 2 years, 2006 to 2008, during this time his son traveled around the world to meet with Russian Federation agents at varies locations. These locations include some obscure countries like Mexico City, Mexico;
I linked the indictment here if you are interested in reading the court proceedings.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/or/PressReleases/2009/NicholsonIndictment.pdf
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/or/PressReleases/2009/NicholsonAffidavit.pdfThis just shows that our own government employees, trusted with knowledge, can turn against their nation. To betray their nation for financial gains. The fact that the father brought his son into the ring of lies and spies shows that the father has little care for family or national pride. I am glad that the public relations department of the Department of Justice put forth this information because it shows that the government is looking out for the people by letting us know what is going on in the world of espionage. This relates back to PR class in that the public relations of the Department of Justice have the interest of the public and the government within it sight.
