On the evening of Monday, June 22, 1953, a delivery boy for the Brooklyn Eagle knocked on the door of one of his customers in the apartment building at 3403 Foster Avenue in Brooklyn. Upon his return to New York in 1956, he found that his carefully constructed network had been left to disintegrate in his absence. Please check.. FBI agents were convinced he fit the description of "MARK". In Warsaw, he discarded his Soviet passport and using a U.S. passport travelled via Czechoslovakia and Switzerland to Paris. 2/9/2021, 7:27:06 PM. The Irish American New York lawyer who defended a Russian spy, and negotiated on behalf of the thousands of prisoners captured after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, is remembered by his daughter Jan. It can often appear that the lives of individuals depicted on the silver screen are too fantastic to be real. FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1948, Fisher slipped into the United States illegally by way of Canada. From the long list of possible suspects, the most logical candidate appeared to be Mikhail Nikolaevich Svirin. Another was the base of a lamp post in Fort Tryon Park. He had then spent three years in Finland taking over Maki's identity. However, private treatment by the agency he had served for decades was not as warm. WE CONGRATULATE YOU ON A SAFE ARRIVAL. The detective had received his information from another police officer whose daughter was acquainted with the newsboy. I dont have any change. In his studio, FBI investigators found a hollow pencil used for concealing messages, a shaving brush containing microfilm, a code book, and radio transmitting equipment. A few Western correspondents were invited there to view for themselves the true identity of the spy who never "broke". [2][50], On 15 June 1957, Hyhnen was shown a photograph of Fisher taken by the FBI with a hidden camera. He did, however, remember being taken to a storage room in Brooklyn by his superior, whom he knew as Mark. The FBI tracked down the storage room and found it was rented by one Emil R. Goldfus, an artist and photographer who had a studio in Brooklyn Heights. Its doctors orders, he explained. During this period, Fisher posed as a photographer and painter named Emil R. Goldfus and immersed himself in a Brooklyn artistic community. Fisher could not leave the country as Martin Collins, Emil Goldfus, or even the long-forgotten Andrew Kayotis. This false build up, of course, was merely part of Hayhanens preparation for a new espionage assignment. Less than three weeks later, FBI agents arrived at 252 Fulton Street in pursuit of the mysterious Mark. Since Goldfus appeared to answer the description of Hayhanens espionage superior, surveillance was established near his photo studio. The real Andrew Kayotis, believed to have died in a Lithuanian hospital, was born in Lithuania on October 10, 1895. The hollowed-out area is too small to hide anything aside from a tiny piece of paper. Rudolf Abel was born William Fisher in England in 1903. He had returned to the Soviet Union in October 1956. Goldfus disappeared about April 26, 1957. That happened, and five years later, Rudolf Abel walked across the Glienicke Bridge between Potsdam and East Berlin, where he was met by Soviet intelligence. As the years passed, memories of the Maki family gradually began to fade, and all but possibly two or three old time residents of Enaville, Idaho, forgot that there has ever been a Maki family in that area. Two separate coins obviously had been used in making this trick 50 Markka piece. Soviet agent Rudolf Ivanovich Abel sent and received coded messages that were hidden inside such things as hollow U.S. coins, bolts, and batteries. On May 28, 1957, agents observed a man resembling Mark on a bench in a park directly opposite the entrance to 252 Fulton Street. Bridge of Spies is the best. The microfilm bore a typewritten message which identified Quebec as Army sergeant Roy Rhodes and stated the Soviet agents had recruited him in January 1952. Despite his modest background, Hayhanen was an honor student and, in 1939, obtained the equivalent of a certificate to teach high school. Arrested by the Immigration and Naturalization Service on an alien warrant based upon his illegal entry into the United States and failure to register as an alien, Mark displayed a defiant attitude. He was dismissed from the agency during the Great Purge of the late 1930s, but he returned to its service after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. They could shed no light on the case. This description was matched against the descriptions of Soviet representatives who had been in the United States between 1952 and 1954. He was, however, able to tell the FBI about Fisher's studio and its location. [12] Though Fisher was not as hard-working as Henry, he showed aptitude for science, mathematics, languages, art and music, inherited in part from his father's abilities. On February 10, 1962 at around 8:50 a . [45] Escape was complicated because, if "MARK" had been compromised by Hyhnen, Fisher's other identities could have been compromised as well. Hyhnen confirmed that it was "MARK" in the photograph. 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. [42], In 1954, Hyhnen began working as Fisher's assistant. He was to deliver a report from a Soviet agent at the United Nations secretariat, to a dead-letter box for collection. Making contact with the KGB residency he received another $200 for his journey to Moscow. [27][29] The Volunteer network grew to include "Aden" and "Serb", nuclear physicists contacted by Hall, and "Silver". 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. [30] Fisher spent most of his first year organizing his network. According to Genesis, Abel, a shepherd, offered the Lord the firstborn of his flock. [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. With the end of this war in 1940, Hayhanen was assigned to check the loyalty and reliability of Soviet workers in Finland and to develop informants and sources of information in their midst. His helper, deployed to the USA began to demonstrate signs of instability and nervousness. [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]. Why? The newsboy handed the nickel to a New York detective, who in turn forwarded it to the FBI. All Rights Reserved. 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). Codenamed "VIK", Hyhnen arrived in New York on the RMS Queen Mary, under the alias Eugene Nikolai Maki. Two months later, however, he was conscripted by the Communists secret police, the NKVD. He was given a modest pension and in 1968 published KGB-approved memoirs. This page was last edited on 16 April 2023, at 19:55. He betrayed parts of the American nuclear program and was exposed for a banal mistake. The real Andrew Kayotis was Lithuanian born and had become an American citizen after migrating to the United States. He eventually became fluent in several languages and developed a love for radio communications. For the next seven months the hollow nickel travelled around the New York City economy, unopened. Upon returning to the United States, Powers was cleared by the CIA and the Senate of any personal blame for the U-2 incident. Donovan traveled to the Soviet embassy in East Berlin to negotiate the exchange, and on February 10, 1962, the two prisoners crossed paths as they were released on the Glienicke Bridge between East and West Germany. The surveillance continued on "MARK" and, on the night of 13 June, a light was seen to go on in Fisher's studio at 10:00 pm. The face of the coin was a 1948 Jefferson nickel. Kitty Harris, a former pupil of Fisher's, had spent a year in Santa Fe during the war, where she passed secrets from physicists to couriers. The trail of the hollow nickel ended when a thirteen-year-old newsboy was collecting for his weekly deliveries. 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. 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. On 18 December 2015, on the eve of the Day of State Security Officers (a professional holiday), a grand opening ceremony of the memorial plaque to William Genrikhovich Fisher took place in. For the past five years, I have been operating in the United States. Fisher was aware of the "tail" but, as he had no passport to leave the country, he devised a plan to be used upon his capture. Rudolf Abel, was convicted of espionage in the United States in 1957 and later exchanged for imprisoned American Francis Gary Powers. This spy, Reino Hayhanen, stated that he had just been ordered to return to Moscow. The FBI then turned its attention to Svirin's replacement. [49], In April 1957, Fisher told his artist friends he was going south on a seven-week vacation. As identification symbols, Hayhanen wore a blue and red striped tie and smoked a pipe. With this data, the FBI Laboratory succeeded in breaking through the curtain of mystery which surrounded the coded message. It is an absolute necessity. On 10 February 1962, he was exchanged for the shot-down American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers. The search for this storage room led FBI agents to a building at 252 Fulton Street. And, when Mikhail dropped from the scene in 1954, Hayhanen was turned over to another Russian spy, one known only as Mark. Hayhanen felt that Mark undoubtedly was still actively engaged in espionage within the United States! Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), Current one is: February 10. End of preview. [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. While studying in Berlin during the partition of the city in 1961, he was imprisoned in East Germany for six months, then released in a Cold War "spy swap" that also involved downed American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers.He spent the bulk of his career as a member of the Swarthmore College faculty, as a . What happened to Gary Powers in 1977? Full case name. Nearly 10 years later, Mark was to admit that he had used Kayotis passport during the fall of 1948 in booking passage aboard an ocean liner from LeHavre, France, to Canada. Four days later, instead of continuing his journey to the Soviet Union he entered the American embassy in Paris, announcing that he was a KGB officer and asking for asylum. Neither of these pennies, nor the assortment of other coins which the Laboratory examined, was found to have tool markings or other distinguishing features to identify it with the newsboys 1948 Jefferson nickel. All Rights Reserved. The unidentified Soviet agent was an accomplished photographer, and Hayhanen recalled that on one occasion in 1955, Mark took him to a storage room where he kept photo supplies on the fourth or fifth floor of a building located near Clark and Fulton Streets in Brooklyn. From New York came a half dollar which had been ground in such a manner that smaller coins could be concealed under it. Goldfus's birth certificate was obtained by the NKVD at the end of the Spanish Civil War, when the Centre would collect identity documents from International Brigades members for use in espionage operations. Astrological Sign: Cancer, Death Year: 1971, Death date: November 15, 1971, Death City: Moscow, Death Country: Russia, Article Title: Rudolf Abel Biography, Author: Biography.com Editors, Website Name: The Biography.com website, Url: https://www.biography.com/crime/rudolf-abel, Publisher: A&E; Television Networks, Last Updated: May 18, 2021, Original Published Date: October 14, 2015. Svirin had been in and out of the United States on several occasions between 1939 and 1956. Updates? They carefully wrapped the nickel and microphotograph for shipment to the FBI Laboratory. On November 15, 1957, Brooklyn judge Mortimer W. Byers sentenced Soviet spy Rudolf Abel to consecutive terms of 30, 10, and 5 years in prison and fined him $3,000. Supreme Court of the United States. [37], In 1955, Fisher, exhausted by the constant pressure, returned to Moscow for six months of rest and recuperation, leaving Hyhnen in charge. Several former intelligence agents who had defected to the free world from communist-bloc nations were contacted. Genrich Fischer (or Fisher), Abels father and a friend of Lenins, emigrated to Britain around 1901, where he spent 20 years attempting to organize and indoctrinate his fellow factory workers before returning to Russia. He was given a modest pension and in 1968 published KGB-approved memoirs. From time to time the man got up, walked around, and eventually left. The action remained secret until it was successfully completed. Several weeks before he departed for America, Hayhanen was recalled to Moscow and introduced to a Soviet agent, Mikhail, who was to serve as his espionage superior in this country. On February 10, 1962 it was exchanged in Berlin. The bolt was found on May 15, 1957. On February 10, 1962, American spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is released by the Soviets in exchange for Soviet Colonel Rudolf Abel, a senior KGB spy who was caught in the United States five years earlier. Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. Hayhanen became a respected expert in Finnish intelligence matters and in May 1943 was accepted into membership in the Soviet Communist Party. The newsboy quickly counted the coins in his pocket. There were two ladies in the apartment across from the one occupied by Jimmys customer. In a jealous rage, Cain murdered Abel. The case, which had made international headlines and turned James Donovan into a public pariah, faded into obscurity. The latter must have "felt it" - . HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. [46], Upon his arrival in the United States, Hyhnen was interrogated by the FBI and proved very cooperative. On June 15, a photograph of Goldfus which the FBI took with a hidden camera was shown to Hayhanen. 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 arrested while undercover in the U.S. 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. this is just under two hours. 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. An investigation which had started with a newsboys hollow nickel ultimately resulted in the smashing of a Soviet spy ring. He received the acclaimed Order of Lenin in 1966, and published his KGB-approved memoirs in 1968. He refused to cooperate at all. Alternate titles: Emil R. Goldfus, Rudolf Ivanovich Abel, William August Fisher. [4] He served just over four years of his sentence before he was exchanged for captured American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. [26] His new passport bore the name Andrew Kayotis, the first of Fisher's false identities. 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. Following his family's return to Russia in 1921, Fisher joined the Komsomol, the Communist Party youth organization, and worked as a translator. Following his arrival in New York on May 10, 1957, Hayhanen was given a thorough physical examination, suitable quarters were found for him, and arrangements were made for him to be interviewed by FBI agents. 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. An official website of the United States government. They met only when necessarythe meeting place being the Prospect Park subway station. You can navigate days by using left and right arrows. From the fall of 1952 until early in 1954, he said, Mikhail served as his espionage superior in New York. He also checked a dead-drop location he had memorized. [10] Having been adopted as a protg by Pavel Sudoplatov, he took part in Operation Scherhorn ( , Operatsiya Berezino) in August 1944. Operating as a Soviet spy in New York City, he was imprisoned for espionage following a high-profile trial in 1957. [22] One of the students was the Canadian-born Russian spy Kitty Harris, who was later more widely known as "The Spy with Seventeen Names". Decided March 28, 1960. He was released in 1962, however, in exchange for the Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. Goldfusregistered at the Hotel Latham under the name of Martin Collinswas kept under surveillance from the night of June 13 until the morning of June 21, 1957. >> have to thank mark palermo for bringing this to us and the brooklyn historical society. The painter in question is Rudolf Abel (brilliantly played by Mark Rylance with wry, mournful soul), first seen serenely composing a self-portrait in his Brooklyn apartment in 1957, at the height of Cold War dread and paranoia. He was given a modest pension and in 1968 published KGB-approved memoirs. 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. From the latter part of August 1952 until April 1954, he had served as the first secretary to the Soviet United Nations Delegation in New York. While it is not known for certain where Fisher went or what he did, it is believed he travelled to Santa Fe, New Mexico, the collection point for stolen diagrams from the Manhattan Project. On May 7, the United States acknowledged that the U-2 had probably flown over Soviet territory but denied that it had authorized the mission. Mark also sent Hayhanen on trips alone. One of these dead drops was an iron picket fence at the end of 7th Avenue near Macombs bridge. From the fall of 1952 until early in 1954, Hyhnen arrived in New York came a half which. In exchange for the next seven months the hollow nickel travelled around the York... Some sort of James Bond modification, with adventurous antics and immoral acts to! Official site of the hollow nickel ended when a thirteen-year-old newsboy was collecting his... Agents who had been ground in such a manner that smaller coins could be under. 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