With the end of this war in 1940, Hayhanen was assigned to check the loyalty and reliability of Soviet workers in Finland and to develop informants and sources of information in their midst. Abel, in the Old Testament, second son of Adam and Eve, who was slain by his older brother, Cain (Genesis 4:1-16). [2] During that time he received money from his superiors left in dead-letter boxes in the Bronx and Manhattan. He also rented a fifth-floor studio at the Ovington Studios Building on Fulton Street. Rudolph Abel Exchange For Garry Powers (1962) Watch on. Powers returned to the United States and wrote of his view of Francis Gary Powers, (born August 17, 1929, Jenkins, Kentucky, U.S.died August 1, 1977, Encino, California), pilot who was captured on May 1, 1960, while on a reconnaissance flight deep inside the Soviet . According to Hayhanen, Mark was a colonel in the KGB and had been engaged in espionage work since approximately 1927. The real Andrew Kayotis, believed to have died in a Lithuanian hospital, was born in Lithuania on October 10, 1895. [4] The other prisoner was Kurt Ponger, an Austrian who had been sentenced for conspiracy to commit espionage. The detective had received his information from another police officer whose daughter was acquainted with the newsboy. From the long list of possible suspects, the most logical candidate appeared to be Mikhail Nikolaevich Svirin. [27], In July 1949, Fisher met with a "legal" KGB resident from the Soviet consulate general, who provided him with money. FBI scientists determined that it had been coated with nickel. He betrayed parts of the American nuclear program and was exposed for a banal mistake. Abel returned to Moscow, where he was forced into retirement by the KGB, who feared that during his five years of captivity U.S. authorities had convinced him to become a double agent. Was Rudolf Abel actually a spy? [11] They had one child together, a daughter named Evelyn who was born on 8 October 1929. Hayhanen did not know where Mark was residing or the name which Mark was using; however, he was able to furnish many other details concerning him. Arrested by the Immigration and Naturalization Service on an alien warrant based upon his illegal entry into the United States and failure to register as an alien, Mark displayed a defiant attitude. After five years in the United States, he dreaded the thought of going back to his communist-ruled homeland. The message apparently was intended for Hayhanen and had been sent from the Soviet Union shortly after his arrival in the United States. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! How did the Supreme Court rule in Rudolf Abel's Case? For the next seven months the hollow nickel travelled around the New York City economy, unopened. Svirin was beyond reach of American justice. Donovan successfully argued against the death penalty for "Colonel Abel" by suggesting he could be used for a future prisoner exchange with the Soviet Union. Abel v. United States. In 1948, he slipped across the Canadian border into the United States, where he set about reorganizing the Soviet spy network. [71], Soviet intelligence officer Rudolf Abel on a 1990 USSR commemorative stamp. He returned to the Soviet Union in 1936, as head of a school that trained radio operators destined for duty in illegal residences. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. On February 10, 1962 at around 8:50 a . Khrushchev also canceled an invitation for Eisenhower to visit the USSR. The FBI first became aware of Abel's activities in 1953, when Abel's incompetent junior colleague Reino Hayhanen carelessly spent a hollow nickel that ended up in the hands of a paperboy. At 6:50 p.m., this man departed on footthe agents, certain their presence had not been detected, chose to wait rather than take a chance of trailing the wrong man. [27][29] The Volunteer network grew to include "Aden" and "Serb", nuclear physicists contacted by Hall, and "Silver". The Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel, has written a note to James B. Donovan, his courtappointed defender in a 1957 espionage trial . Fisher was subsequently indicted to stand trial as a Russian spy. The Cohens were quickly spirited to Mexico before moving on to Moscow. Youve found him, the former Soviet Agent exclaimed. Why does the Government what James Donovan to negotiate the Trade? The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officials at the Paris embassy did not find Hyhnen's story credible. According to the second one, he was Martin Collins, born June 2, 1897, also in New York. Corrections? Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Rudolf Abel, Birth Year: 1903, Birth date: July 11, 1903, Birth City: Newcastle Upon Tyne, Birth Country: England. He served as a case officer for the "Volunteer" spy network, which was tasked with relaying atomic secrets, and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner in 1949. He admitted his first Soviet contact in New York had been "MIKHAIL" and upon being shown a series of photographs of Soviet officials identified "MIKHAIL" as Mikhail Svirin. Abel returned to Moscow, where the KGB pushed him into retirement, fearing that he had been persuaded to become a double agent during his five years in captivity by American authorities. On 10 February 1962, he was exchanged for the shot-down American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers. The KGB Center, with the help of KGB's Ottawa resident, set about procuring two new passports for Fisher in the names of Robert Callan and Vasili Dzogol, but this process would take time. In Moscow, however, plans were being made for a new Eugene Maki, one thoroughly grounded in Soviet intelligence techniques, to enter the scene. Mark made another admissionthat he was a Russian citizen, Rudolf Ivanovich Abel, born July 2, 1902 in the Soviet Union. The longtime intelligence operative died in Moscow in 1971, his story later revived in the 2015 movie Bridge of Spies. This was the first time, however, that the FBI had ever encountered a nickel quite like this one. Less than three weeks later, acting on Hyhnen's information, surveillance was established near Fisher's photo studio. [56][57] Also discovered were photographs of the Cohens and recognition phrases to establish contact between agents who had never met before. Something went wrong. After he collected for the newspaper, Jimmy left the apartment house jingling several coins in his left hand. He died in 1971. Powers, a CIA-employed pilot, was to fly over some 2,000 miles of Soviet territory to Bodo military airfield in Norway, collecting intelligence information en route. [65], Fisher served just over four years of his sentence. She disappeared for a moment, then returned with a purse in her hand. FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. However, on 21 October 1952, as instructed by Moscow, Reino Hyhnen left a thumbtack on a signpost in New York's Central Park. The newsboy rested this coin, a nickel, on the middle finger of his hand. [2][50], On 15 June 1957, Hyhnen was shown a photograph of Fisher taken by the FBI with a hidden camera. Although Hayhanen assisted the FBI in solving the mystery of the hollow nickel, the information he furnished placed other critical challenges before the agents. There were two ladies in the apartment across from the one occupied by Jimmys customer. Investigation in Detroit disclosed that several persons there considered Kayotis to be in poor physical condition at the time of his departure from the United States. There could be no question of its accuracy. Then, in the summer of 1949, he entered Finland as Eugene Nicolai Maki, an American-born laborer. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Pablo Escobar. 2/9/2021, 7:27:06 PM. The agents long hours of patience were rewarded on the night of June 13, 1957. [2], The KGB did not discover Hyhnen's defection until August, although it is more than likely they notified Fisher earlier when Hyhnen failed to arrive in Moscow. While the surveillance continued at 252 Fulton Street, other FBI agents made daily checks on the dead drops that Hayhanen stated he and Mark had used. Two hollow pennies were found in Washington, D.C. [6], Fisher and his brother, Henry,[11] won scholarships to Whitley Bay High School and Monkseaton High School. ENCIPHER SHORT LETTERS, BUT THE LONGER ONES MAKE WITH INSERTIONS. Even his wife knew him only as Eugene Maki, so carefully did he cover his previous life. He had returned to the Soviet Union in October 1956. On May 28, 1957, agents observed a man resembling Mark on a bench in a park directly opposite the entrance to 252 Fulton Street. [51], At 7:00 am on 21 June 1957, Fisher answered a knock on the door to his room, Room 839. El a purtat mai multe nume printre care se numea Rudolf Ivanovici Abel, Willie"), William Genrihovici (August) Fisher, Emil Robert Goldfus sau Frank, Marc, Andrew Kayotis, Martin Collins. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. The drama of Fisher's trial and the subsequent negotiations that led to the prisoner exchange were revived with the release of the 2015 movie Bridge of Spies. The court sentenced Abel to 30 years imprisonment. Following his arrest, Mark was found to possess many false papers, including two American birth certificates. Full case name. In April 1957 (the same month Hayhanen boarded a ship for Europe under instructions to return to Moscow), Goldfus had told a few persons in the Fulton Street building that he was going South on a seven-week vacation. The certificate in the name of Collins was a forgery. Hyhnen fabricated stories to justify his delay, claiming to Fisher that the FBI had taken him off the RMS Queen Mary. When the New York detective contacted him, Jimmy handed over the hollow nickel and the photograph it contained. 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