Notorious CIA turncoat Aldrich Ames dies in US prison at 84

A disgraced former U.S. intelligence services official has died in prison at the age of 84. The Central Investigation Agency’s (CIA) turncoat, Aldrich Ames, who sold intelligence assets to the Soviet Union and Russia from 1985 to 1994, died in Maryland prison.

The death of the 31-year CIA veteran was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons.

Ames' betrayal was a major setback for the CIA during the Cold War; he admitted to getting paid $2.5 million for sharing sensitive information with Moscow.

He made the following disclosures to rival country’s intelligence agency:

Identities of 10 Russian and one European official spying for the U.S. and the West

• Spy satellite operations
• Eavesdropping and general spy procedures
• Ames later revealed that he needed money to pay debts.

His disclosures led to the execution of Western agents working behind the iron curtain. Ames pleaded guilty after getting arrested in 1994 and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

He downplayed the damage done to U.S. security by his betrayal as he told the court: “These spy wars are a sideshow which have had no real impact on our significant security interests over the years.”