Spycraft - Melton [78]
In April of 1984, Tolkachev passed two full cameras and thirty-nine pages of handwritten notes, twenty-six of which contained detailed intelligence. The images in the spy cameras were of excellent quality. In turn, he received two new cameras, a communications plan, and a hundred thousand rubles, but again refused an exfiltration plan. His spirits seemed high. No problems were reported from the security scare of the previous year. He apologized for destroying his Pentax 35mm camera and requested a replacement. The case officer concluded that from Tolkachev’s perspective the operation was “back to normal.”
The CIA’s assessment of Tolkachev’s situation was decidedly less rosy. He was not given a replacement Pentax camera because his handlers did not want him to risk removing documents from the institute. At an October meeting where he passed twenty-two pages of handwritten notes, he also pressed his request for a Pentax and insisted he was “ready to return to work.” The Moscow office expressed concern that if Tolkachev was not given another 35mm camera, he would obtain one locally. As an alternative Tolkachev was given additional document copy cameras in an attempt to satisfy his compulsion to photograph documents.
In January 1985, Tolkachev returned three expended subminiature cameras and sixteen pages of handwritten notes. His resupply included five fresh cameras, new intelligence requirements, and another hundred thousand rubles. He explained he had been able to take better photographs inside the institute because the work was done from a toilet stall near a window. This gave him more light and he could arrange for another stop inside the building as cover for the twenty to twenty-five minutes he was away from his desk. Unfortunately, the images, taken on an overcast day, were underexposed and unreadable.
Tolkachev’s behavior in the January meeting seemed normal. His written information was consistent in terms of subject matter, quantity, and quality of his previous offerings, and the case officer detected no change in surveillance activities before or after the meeting. Nothing indicated that Tolkachev was compromised or working under KGB control.
According to his notes, the unreadable images from the January meeting contained data about the design of a new frontline Soviet fighter aircraft scheduled to be operational in the 1990s. So significant was the intelligence that the Agency wanted his handlers to initiate an unscheduled meeting in March. The case officer signaled for the meeting, but the reply signal from Tolkachev—opening one of his transom windows between 12:15 PM and 2:30 PM—was not seen. (However, one of the other transom windows was open and later this was thought to have possibly been a danger signal.) Without a positive response from Tolkachev it was decided to wait until June to attempt another meeting.
In the first week of June Tolkachev signaled readiness to meet by opening the middle transom window in his apartment at the indicated time, but the case officer was forced to abort the operation when he detected heavy surveillance. On the next alternate meeting date, June 13, the readiness-to-meet signal was again seen at Tolkachev’s apartment. This time, the case officer detected no surveillance en route to the meeting, but as he approached the site more than a dozen KGB personnel wearing camouflaged military uniforms and hiding in nearby bushes jumped him. Bundled into a waiting car, the case officer was taken to the Headquarters of the Second Chief Directorate at Lubyanka for questioning.
During interrogation, the case officer was accused of being a spy and confronted with the package he intended to pass to Tolkachev. Inside were five concealed doc copy cameras, books and drawing pens for Tolkachev’s son, periodontal medicine, an OTS book concealment containing 250 pages of newspaper and magazine articles requested by Tolkachev, and an envelope with