Good news: Aldrich Ames, CIA officer convicted of spying for Moscow, dies at 84

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Aldrich Ames, a former counterintelligence officer for the CIA who gained notoriety as a double agent for the Soviet Union and later Russia, has died. He was 84.

Ames, who was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland, died on Jan. 5, online records show. The Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate database did not list a cause or location of death.

The agency did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.

In February 1994, Ames was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on charges of espionage. He later pleaded guilty to spying for Moscow and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

At the time of his arrest, the FBI said Ames was a 31-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency who was believed to have been spying for the Soviet Union and later Russia since 1985. Federal authorities also accused Ames’ wife, Rosario Ames, of aiding in his espionage activities.

As a double agent, the FBI said Ames had compromised intelligence operations by leaking classified documents and the identities of CIA and FBI sources. Soviet authorities eventually executed some sources.

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