Spycraft - Melton [100]
The Soviets used both Amtorg, a trading organization, and Aeroflot, their national airline, as covers for espionage. From Amtorg offices, the Soviets conducted industrial as well as political espionage. Throughout the Cold War, the Soviets sought America’s advanced technology by targeting individuals in private companies. In one year alone, the Soviets’ New York residency supplied more than 180,000 pages of classified and unclassified documents along with samples of state-of-the-art technology.
It was a smart way to operate in the West since a business cover of “furthering peaceful trade and commerce” offered access to the latest manufacturing equipment and technical expertise, proximity to scientists and engineers who might be recruited, and a platform from which to recruit in nearby countries. In developing countries where business and politics frequently intertwined these front companies proved the ideal conduit through which Western economic and scientific secrets could flow back to Moscow. 34
Not surprisingly, these commercial offices were priority targets for Agency audio operations. A microphone installation, taps on phone lines, or a telex intercept could yield high-value intelligence about local operations, sources, and recruited agents. Making commercial offices even more attractive was the fact that they were generally less well protected against intrusion than diplomatic facilities. To maintain the façade of a legitimate business, the trading companies leased office space in commercial buildings with security that usually conformed to local business practices. In some instances, the CIA officers would lease space directly above, below, or to the side of these Soviet offices, giving techs a common wall for audio ops.
In the South American country, the target trade office was located in a six-story commercial building in the heart of a major city. Erected before World War II on a main thoroughfare, the building was otherwise unremarkable. Arrangements were made by the local station to rent a small office in the same building to serve as a front.35 The tech, posing as an employee of the front company, began his technical survey of the building’s structure, architecture, layout, and entrances in preparation for an installation.
The tech found the stairway door leading to the roof and attic when, unexpectedly, the building’s porter appeared. “In my best broken Spanish, with a big smile and plenty of hand waving, I said, ‘Hey, how can I get up to the attic—there are many windows up there that overlook the city,’” the tech recalled. “‘I’ve noticed how many beautiful churches you have and this would be a wonderful place to take pictures. I want to photograph as many of your churches as I can.’”
The porter, growing misty-eyed, gestured for the tech to follow him. With his new escort and communicating as best he could on their trek to the roof, the tech encouraged the porter to show off every possible aspect of the building, stairways, entrances, offices, and crawl spaces. When they finally reached the top floor, the tech found the attic appeared permanently unfinished, consisting largely of unused space with the partially completed floor offering clear access to the ceilings of the target suite. In short, the vacant attic was the ideal point to plant bugs exactly above the target and an easy way to run concealed wires back down to the listening post in the Agency’s rented office several floors below. The tech took a few pictures from the attic window, thanked the porter (again in his best broken Spanish), and left.
Returning the next day with a high quality 8 × 10-inch photograph of the church across the street, the tech presented the image to the porter along with a small gratuity. The porter was so pleased he invited the tech back to take more pictures. With the porter an unwitting source for authorized access, the tech now had plausible reason to be in the unoccupied spaces of the building for extended periods. On the third