Edward Lee Howard
Edward Lee Howard | |
|---|---|
case officer | |
| Spouse | Mary Howard |
Edward Lee Victor Howard (27 October 1951 – 12 July 2002) was a
Pre-CIA career
Howard served as a
CIA career
Howard was hired by the
Disgruntled over the perceived unfairness of having been dismissed over accusations of drug use, petty theft and deception, he began to abuse alcohol. He then began making mysterious phone calls to some former colleagues, both in Washington and in Moscow. In February 1984 after a drunken brawl he was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. The charges were later reduced to aggravated assault.
At some point Howard apparently began providing classified information to the KGB, possibly contacting KGB officers in Austria in 1984 during a visit there.[4] His information has been blamed for exposing Adolf Tolkachev, who was then executed by the KGB.[5]
In 1985, the CIA was severely shaken by several security leaks that led to exposure of officers and
Surveillance and escape to Helsinki
The FBI began watching the Howards in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A search warrant was subsequently secured to tap the Howards’ phone. On September 20, 1985, Howard walked up to a member of a surveillance team and indicated that he was ready to talk but wanted first to get a lawyer; a meeting was scheduled for the following week.
The following night, however, Howard disappeared. As he and his wife Mary drove back from a dinner away from their home, Howard leapt from the car as Mary slowed to round a corner. He left a dummy made from stuffed clothes and an old wig stand in his seat to fool the pursuing agents, and fled to
Howard maintained his innocence until his death. He only fled, he said, because he could see the agency had chosen him to fill Yurchenko's profile and wanted a scapegoat. Howard insisted he refused to divulge anything of real importance in exchange for his Soviet protection.[7][4]
In 1995 Howard's memoirs, called Safe House, were published by National Press Books in which Howard indicated that he was prepared for a plea bargain with the U.S.[7]
Death
Howard died on July 12, 2002, at his Russian dacha, reportedly from a broken neck after a fall in his home.[8][4]
See also
References
- ^ "CIA Defector Edward Lee Howard Now Unguarded in Russia". Peace Corps Online. November 27, 1991.
- ^ Wise, David (1988). The Spy Who Got Away: The Inside Story of the CIA Agent Who Betrayed His Country. Random House Inc. p. 74.
- ^ Howard, Edward Lee (1995). "Chapter Four: Those Wiggly Lines". Safe House: The Compelling Story of the Only CIA Operative to Seek Asylum in Russia. Bethesda, Maryland: National Press Books.
- ^ a b c d "Mysterious life, death of Edward Lee Howard". Peace Corps Online. October 1, 2002.
- ^ Tavernise, Sabrina (July 23, 2002). "Edward Lee Howard, 50, Spy Who Escaped to Soviet Haven". The New York Times.
- ^ "Another Review of Safe House by RPCV and CIA defector Edward Lee Howard". Peace Corps Online. January 1, 1995.
- ^ ISBN 978-1882605156.
- ^ "Death of Edward Lee Howard". Peace Corps Online. August 19, 2002.
