Jack Barsky: Difference between revisions
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| name = Jack Barsky |
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| birth_name = Albrecht Dittrich |
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| nationality = East German |
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| known_for = spy for KGB |
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'''Jack Barsky''', born '''Albrecht Dittrich''' is a former secret agent of the [[KGB]]. |
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==Life== |
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| ⚫ | He was born in [[East Germany]].<ref name=60min /> In 1970 he was studying to become a chemistry professor when he was approached by the East German Secret Police and asked to be a spy.<ref name=60min /> He accepted, and after training by the KGB he was sent to the United States in 1978.<ref name=60min /> |
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Barsky's American identity was taken from a child who had died in Washington, D.C. at the age of ten.<ref name=60min /> The KGB provided him with the child's birth certificate and $6,000 in cash.<ref name=60min /> His mission was to get a U.S. passport, insert himself into American society and "get close to National Security Adviser [[Zbigniew Brzezinski]]".<ref name=60min /> He was not given very good instructions, and struggled at first.<ref name=60min /> Eventually he obtained a social security card, rented an apartment, and began attending college and studying computer programming.<ref name=60min /> He worked for [[MetLife]] and was able to provide the Soviets with programming code that helped them compete with the West.<ref name=60min /><ref name=Forbs>{{cite news|last1=Rapoza|first1=Kenneth|title=Former Russia Spy Living American Dream In NY|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2015/05/10/former-russia-spy-living-american-dream-in-ny/|accessdate=16 June 2015|work=Forbes|agency=Forbes|date=May 10, 2015}}</ref> |
Barsky's American identity was taken from a child who had died in Washington, D.C. at the age of ten.<ref name=60min /> The KGB provided him with the child's birth certificate and $6,000 in cash.<ref name=60min /> His mission was to get a U.S. passport, insert himself into American society and "get close to National Security Adviser [[Zbigniew Brzezinski]]".<ref name=60min /> He was not given very good instructions, and struggled at first.<ref name=60min /> Eventually he obtained a social security card, rented an apartment, and began attending college and studying computer programming.<ref name=60min /> He worked for [[MetLife]] and was able to provide the Soviets with programming code that helped them compete with the West.<ref name=60min /><ref name=Forbs>{{cite news|last1=Rapoza|first1=Kenneth|title=Former Russia Spy Living American Dream In NY|url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2015/05/10/former-russia-spy-living-american-dream-in-ny/|accessdate=16 June 2015|work=Forbes|agency=Forbes|date=May 10, 2015}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 18:05, 3 May 2017
Jack Barsky | |
|---|---|
| Born | Albrecht Dittrich |
| Nationality | East German |
| Known for | spy for KGB |
Jack Barsky, born Albrecht Dittrich is a former secret agent of the KGB.
Life
He was born in East Germany.[1] In 1970 he was studying to become a chemistry professor when he was approached by the East German Secret Police and asked to be a spy.[1] He accepted, and after training by the KGB he was sent to the United States in 1978.[1]
Barsky's American identity was taken from a child who had died in Washington, D.C. at the age of ten.[1] The KGB provided him with the child's birth certificate and $6,000 in cash.[1] His mission was to get a U.S. passport, insert himself into American society and "get close to National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski".[1] He was not given very good instructions, and struggled at first.[1] Eventually he obtained a social security card, rented an apartment, and began attending college and studying computer programming.[1] He worked for MetLife and was able to provide the Soviets with programming code that helped them compete with the West.[1][2]
Barsky received weekly radio transmissions from the Soviets.[1] Every two years he returned to Germany and Moscow for debriefing.[1] For 10 years he led a double life, with a wife and child in Germany and a wife and child in the United States.[1] His two families did not know about each other at first.[1]
In 1988 he learned his cover was compromised, but refused to leave the country because he was concerned about the welfare of his American family.[1] He falsely told the KGB he had contracted the AIDS virus and needed to stay in the United States for treatment.[3][1] Meanwhile, the KGB told his German wife he was dead.[1]
In 1992 a KGB defector named Vasili Mitrokhin provided information to the FBI about Soviet spy operations in the U.S., including Barsky's name.[1] The FBI was able to locate Barsky, observing him for some time, and in 1997 detained and interrogated him.[1] He was never charged with espionage as the FBI determined that he was no longer an active spy and that he was a valuable source of information about spy techniques.[1]
Since his uncovering, Barsky has revealed the truth to his families, both in the United States and in Germany.[1] He is a former employee of the New York Independent System Operator as a Director Of Software Technologies in upstate New York.[1] He has previously been chief information officer for other energy systems.[4] He is not considered to pose a threat to the security of the power grid.[5][4] He did not tell his employer about his past when he was hired in 2011, and they learned about it shortly before he was interviewed on 60 Minutes in 2015, which led to him being fired.[4]
Barsky lived in Schaghticoke, New York[5] until 2016. He now resides near Atlanta, Georgia with his wife and daughter.[6] He released a book in 2015 about his experiences, Deep Undercover: My Secret Life and Tangled Allegiances as A KGB Spy in America.[4] He is a Christian.[7]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "The Spy Among Us". May 10, 2015.
- ^ Rapoza, Kenneth (May 10, 2015). "Former Russia Spy Living American Dream In NY". Forbes. Forbes. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
- ^ Jack Barsky: The KGB spy who lived the American dream But he also remembered the Soviet Union's "morally superior" attitude to the Aids epidemic - their belief that it "served the Americans right" and their determination to protect the motherland from infection. Barsky stalled a bit more and then hatched a plan. "I wrote this letter, in secret writing, that I wouldn't come back because I had contracted Aids, and the only way for me to get treatment would be in the United States. I also told the Russians in the same letter that I would not defect, I would not give up any secrets. I would just disappear and try to get healthy."
- ^ a b c d Rulison, Larry; Crowe II, Kenneth (May 9, 2015). "Former KGB spy holds a top job at New York electric grid operator". Times Union. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
- ^ a b Sanderson, Bill (May 10, 2015). "A former KGB spy's secret life in America exposed". New York Post. New York Post. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
- ^ "Former KGB agent Jack Barsky now living in Georgia". Times Union. Retrieved 2017-03-26.
- ^ Jack Barsky: The KGB spy who lived the American dream Barsky is now married for a third time and has a young daughter. He has also found God, completing his journey from a hardline communist and atheist to a churchgoing, all-American patriot.