Although the FBI was convinced that it had finally identified the Soviet espionage apparatus which was responsible for the hollow Jefferson nickel, only one half of the mystery posed by this coin since its discovery in June 1953 had been solved. One year laterJuly 28, 1952a passport was issued to Hayhanen as Eugene Maki at Helsinki. In a jealous rage, Cain murdered Abel. 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. In 1957, Reino Hayhanen, a lieutenant colonel in the KGB, walked into the American embassy in Paris and announced his intention to defect to the West. Using this passport, he sailed October 16, 1952 from Southhampton, England aboard the Queen Mary and arrived at New York City on October 21, 1952. Codenamed "VIK", Hyhnen arrived in New York on the RMS Queen Mary, under the alias Eugene Nikolai Maki. Ill ask the people across the hall, he said. Want to read all 2 pages? [56][57] Also discovered were photographs of the Cohens and recognition phrases to establish contact between agents who had never met before. He also rented a fifth-floor studio at the Ovington Studios Building on Fulton Street. As the spies waited, negotiators talked in the center of the bridge where a white line divided East from West. 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. [43][45] Hyhnen arrived in Paris on May Day, having sailed from the U.S. aboard La Libert. [37], In 1955, Fisher, exhausted by the constant pressure, returned to Moscow for six months of rest and recuperation, leaving Hyhnen in charge. Despite his modest background, Hayhanen was an honor student and, in 1939, obtained the equivalent of a certificate to teach high school. [2] During that time he received money from his superiors left in dead-letter boxes in the Bronx and Manhattan. Fisher, or "Rudolf Ivanovich Abel", was to serve his sentence (as prisoner 80016-A) at Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Georgia. What happened to Gary Powers in 1977? With this data, the FBI Laboratory succeeded in breaking through the curtain of mystery which surrounded the coded message. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. The reverse side had been made from another nickelone minted sometime during the period of 1942 to 1945. >> have to thank mark palermo for bringing this to us and the brooklyn historical society. FBI mugshot of William August Fisher, a.k.a. The lights went out at 11:52 p.m., and a man who appeared to generally fit the description of Mark stepped into the darkness outside the building. In 1970, he published a book, Operation Overflight, about the incident and in 1977 was killed in the crash of a helicopter that he flew as a reporter for a Los Angeles television station. [14], Fisher became an apprentice draughtsman at Swan Hunter, Wallsend, and attended evening classes at Rutherford College before being accepted into London University in 1920. Something went wrong. During this period, FBI agents discreetly tied together the loose ends of the investigation, matters which had to be resolved before this Russian intelligence officer could be taken into custody. Cain then became a fugitive because his brother's innocent blood put a . READ MORE:The Spy Who Kept the Cold War From Boiling Over. Moments later, FBI agents saw him take a subway to 28th Street, and they stood by unnoticed as he emerged from the subway and walked to the Hotel Latham on East 28th Street. Hyhnen was able only to provide Fisher's codename, "MARK", and a description. Hollow coins, though rarely seen by the ordinary citizen, are occasionally used in magic acts and come to the attention of federal law enforcement agencies from time to time. They carefully wrapped the nickel and microphotograph for shipment to the FBI Laboratory. He was exchanged in 1962 for the American aviator Francis Gary Powers, who had been imprisoned as a spy in the Soviet Union since 1960. In the mid-1920s, Eugene Makis parents became deeply impressed by glowing reports of conditions in the new Russia. He refused to cooperate at all. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. 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. [17], Fluent in English, Russian, German, Polish and Yiddish,[18] Fisher worked for the Comintern as a translator following his family's return to the Soviet Union. Questioned about the hollow bolt, Hayhanen said that trick containers such as this were often used by the espionage apparatus which he served. [9] As Heinrich Fisher had served a sentence for offenses against the Russian Imperial Crown, he was forced to flee to the United Kingdom in 1901,[10] the alternative being deportation to Germany or imprisonment in Russia for avoidance of military service. [70] Fisher, who was a heavy smoker, died of lung cancer on 15 November 1971. For the past five years, I have been operating in the United States. Answer (1 of 4): Rudolf Abel fell victim to poor selection of a helper, if it was not enemy conspiracy in Moscow. 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. The myth of the master spy Rudolf Abel replaced the reality of Fisher's illegal residency, even as the party hierarchy was well aware that Fisher had achieved nothing of real significance. AP Follow Russia Beyond on Rumble The story of a Soviet. 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. Its not suitable for a magic trick, one novelty salesman commented. [4] He served just over four years of his sentence before he was exchanged for captured American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers. From New York came a half dollar which had been ground in such a manner that smaller coins could be concealed under it. In September 1939, Hayhanen was appointed to the primary school faculty in the Village of Lipitzi. Lona Cohen (codenamed "LESLE") and her husband Morris Cohen (codenamed "LUIS" and "VOLUNTEER") had run the Volunteer network and were seasoned couriers. During the FBIs extensive interviews with him, in May 1957 Hayhanen was carefully questioned regarding the codes and cryptosystems which he had used in the various Soviet intelligence agencies he had served since 1939. [8][6] Fisher's father, a revolutionary activist, taught and agitated with Vladimir Lenin at Saint Petersburg Technological Institute. All Rights Reserved. [20] That year he married Elena Lebedeva, a harp student at Moscow Conservatoire. Although he refused to discuss his intelligence activities, the photo studio and hotel room which he occupied were virtual museums of modern espionage equipment. This man was followed down Fulton Street to a nearby subway station. The coded message which the nickel contained still had to be deciphered. [10] However, in 1938 he was dismissed from the NKVD, which the OGPU had been renamed to in 1934. He had come to the United States in 1948 or 1949, entering by illegally crossing the Canadian border. The Soviet intelligence officer Alexander Belov appeared before readers as some sort of James Bond modification, with adventurous antics and immoral acts. Rudolf Abel, was convicted of espionage in the United States in 1957 and later exchanged for imprisoned American Francis Gary Powers. The message apparently was intended for Hayhanen and had been sent from the Soviet Union shortly after his arrival in the United States. In Moscow, however, plans were being made for a new Eugene Maki, one thoroughly grounded in Soviet intelligence techniques, to enter the scene. In the modest home of Hayhanen and his wife on Dorislee Drive in Peekskill, New York, FBI agents found such items as a 50 Markka coin from Finland. By a five-to-four decision which was handed down on March 28, 1960, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of this Russian spy. Why? On July 15, 1947, Andrew Kayotis, then residing in Detroit, was issued a passport so that he could visit relatives in Europe. In 1948, the KGB had called Hyhnen to Moscow where they issued him a new assignment. NUMBER 1, 3RD OF DECEMBER.. CONSULT WITH US PRIOR TO INVESTING IT IN ANY KIND OF BUSINESS, ADVISING THE CHARACTER OF THIS BUSINESS.3. 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. WE CONFIRM THE RECEIPT OF YOUR LETTER TO THE ADDRESS `V REPEAT V AND THE READING OF LETTER NUMBER 1.2. The money Hyhnen received from the KGB to support the network was instead spent on alcohol and prostitutes. Emil Goldfus was Rudolf Ivanovich Abel, a brilliant Soviet spy who was fluent in at least five languages and an expert at the technical requirements of espionage. Sorry, Jimmy, she said. None could recall seeing a nickel or other coin quite like this one. In particular, he became a friend of Burton Silverman. [60] Donovan subsequently brought in attorney Thomas M. Debevoise to assist him;[61] Fisher was tried in Federal Court at New York City during October 1957, on three counts:[59]. This was the first time, however, that the FBI had ever encountered a nickel quite like this one. However, private treatment by the agency he had served for decades was not as warm. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rudolf-Abel, Federal Bureau of Investigation - Biography of Rudolph Ivanovich Abel, Rudolf Abel - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). The two ladies who had changed the newboys dollar on the evening of June 22 were located. [2][37][38], Late in 1953, Fisher moved to Brooklyn and rented a room in a boarding house on Hicks Street. Place seems right. At the end of his 1957 trial, Rudolf Abel escaped the death penalty when his lawyer, James Donovan, convinced the federal judge that Abel might one day be used either as a source of intelligence information or as a hostage to be traded with the Soviets for a captured U.S. agent. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! Accordingly, passage was secured for Hayhanen on an airliner, and he was permitted to return to the United States. Conspiracy to transmit defense information to the Soviet Union 30 years imprisonment; Conspiracy to obtain defense information 10 years imprisonment; Conspiracy to act in the United States as an agent of a foreign government without notification to the Secretary of State 5 years imprisonment. He mingled with New York artists, who were surprised by his admiration for the Russian painter Isaak Levitan, although Fisher was careful not to discuss Stalinist "socialist realism". A few Western correspondents were invited there to view for themselves the true identity of the spy who never "broke". An investigation which had started with a newsboys hollow nickel ultimately resulted in the smashing of a Soviet spy ring. [43], By early 1957, Fisher had lost patience with Hyhnen and demanded that Moscow recall his deputy. As a member of a Soviet spy ring operating on American soil, Hyhnen came under the FBI's jurisdiction and they began verifying his story. However, on 21 October 1952, as instructed by Moscow, Reino Hyhnen left a thumbtack on a signpost in New York's Central Park. Fisher, or "Rudolf Ivanovich Abel", was to serve his sentence (as prisoner 80016A)[64] at Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Georgia. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. Fisher said nothing to the FBI and, after spending twenty-three minutes staring at Fisher, the FBI agents called in the waiting Immigration and Naturalization Service officers who arrested Fisher and detained him under section 242 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Rudolf Ivanovich Abel ( Russian: ), real name William August Fisher (11 July 1903 - 15 November 1971), was a Soviet intelligence officer. If thats `Mark, hell return, they correctly surmised. [28] Members of the network had stopped cooperating after postwar security was tightened at Los Alamos. The hollow nickel found by the Brooklyn newspaper boy, The coded message contained in the hollow nickel. He appeared before Judge Mortimer W. Byers on November 15, 1957 and was sentenced as follows (the three sentences to be served concurrently): Colonel Abel appealed his convictions, claiming that rights guaranteed to him under the Constitution and laws of the United States had been violated. From 1953 to 1957, continuing efforts were made to solve the mystery of the hollow coin. The name "Rudolf Ivanovich Abel" was that of a deceased friend and a KGB colonel; Fisher knew as soon as The Centre saw the name Abel on the front pages of American newspapers they would realize he had been captured. [33][34][35] The thumbtack signaled to Fisher that Hyhnen, his new assistant, had arrived. He was given a modest pension and in 1968 published KGB-approved memoirs. The exchange took place on the Glienicke Bridge that linked West Berlin with Potsdam, which became famous during the Cold War as the "Bridge of Spies". President John F. Kennedy commuted Abels sentence, and, on February 10, 1962, in a ceremony on a bridge between West Berlin and East Germany (Potsdam), Abel was exchanged for Powers and Frederic L. Pryor, an American student who had been held without charge in East Germany since August 1961. [46], Upon his arrival in the United States, Hyhnen was interrogated by the FBI and proved very cooperative. Near the tavern, he was told, he would find a signpost marked Horse Carts, You will let Mikhail know of your arrival by placing a red thumb tack in this signpost, a Soviet official told him. For example, in 1954, Mark instructed him to locate an American Army sergeant, one formerly assigned to the United States Embassy in Moscow. Khrushchev also canceled an invitation for Eisenhower to visit the USSR. 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. [32] Fisher was relieved when the Rosenbergs did not disclose any information about him to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), but the arrests heralded a bleak outlook for his new spy network. The information which he provided was applied by FBI Laboratory experts to the microphotograph from the Jefferson nickel. FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. At Donovan's initial meeting with Fisher, the latter accepted Donovan as his defense counsel. [59] The Brooklyn Bar Association approached several prominent trial lawyers with political ambitions, all of whom declined the case. He also must be identified. [2][39][40] Over time his artistic technique improved and he became a competent painter, though he disliked abstract painting, preferring more conventional styles. Who Is Suspected Pentagon Leaker Jack Teixeira? ) (n. 11 iulie 1903, Newcastle Marea Britanie - d. 15 noiembrie 1971, Moscova ), nsc. [6], Fisher and his brother, Henry,[11] won scholarships to Whitley Bay High School and Monkseaton High School. [45] Fisher, unsuspecting, advised Hyhnen to leave the U.S. immediately to avoid FBI surveillance and handed him $200 for travel expenses. Theodore "Ted" Hall (codenamed "MLAD"), a physicist, was the most important agent in the network in 1945, passing atomic secrets from Los Alamos. In 1957, Fisher was convicted in US federal court on three counts of conspiracy as a Soviet spy for his involvement in what became known as the Hollow Nickel Case and sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment at Atlanta Federal Penitentiary in Georgia. This description was matched against the descriptions of Soviet representatives who had been in the United States between 1952 and 1954. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! 3. Months of determined probing by the FBIs scientists and investigative staff had led merely to one blind alley after another. 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