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| Fifth Column |
| Red-hot beauty snared in Russia 'espionage' shock |
| 2010-06-29 |
| A ring of 11 Russian moles right out of a Cold War spy novel was smashed yesterday -- and among those busted was a flame-haired, 007-worthy beauty who flitted from high-profile parties to top-secret meetings around Manhattan. Classic honey-trap material Russian national Anna Chapman -- a 28-year-old divorcee with a masters in economics, an online real-estate business, a fancy Financial District apartment and a Victorias Secret body -- had been passing information to a Russian government official every Wednesday since January, authorities charged. In one particularly slick spy exchange on St. Patricks Day, Chapman pulled a laptop out of a tote bag in a bookstore at Warren and Greenwich streets in the West Village while her handler lurked outside, receiving her message on his own computer, the feds said. A similar exchange occurred at a Midtown coffee shop at 47th Street and 8th Ave. The FBI claimed the two were corresponding via a secret online network. Last week, an undercover agent pretending to be a Russian official arranged a meeting to talk about the weekly laptop exchanges, pretending to be ready to send the sexy spy on a mission to deliver a fake passport to another female agent, according to the federal complaint. "Are you ready for this step?" he asked. "S¤-¤-¤-, yes," Chapman allegedly gushed. The undercover instructed her on how she would recognize her fellow spy and how to report back on the handoff, the feds said. "Havent we met in California last summer?" the spy expecting the fake passport was supposed to say. Chapman was to respond, "No, I think it was the Hamptons," according to the FBI. Chapman allegedly was also supposed to hold a magazine under her arm so her counterpart would recognize her, and plant a stamp on a wall map indicate the handoff was a success. It never took place. Another spy-movie-like maneuver took place in Brooklyn shortly after the meeting with the undercover agent when Chapman darted into a Verizon phone store to buy a cell using the name Irine Kutsov, and an address of "99 Fake Street," the feds said. She only planned to use the phone to "avoid detection of her conversations," the FBI alleged. At her arraignment last night, she was held without bail as federal prosecutor Michael Farbiarz called her a "highly trained agent" and a "practiced deceiver." "Well, those Ukraine girls really knock me out They leave the West behind And Moscow girls make me sing and shout That Georgia's always on m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-my mind! " The other suspects, including four middle-aged couples living seemingly ordinary professional lives, were supplied with bogus names and documents and told by Moscow to become "Americanized," infiltrate "policymaking circles" in the United States and send secrets back to the Kremlin, the feds said. |
| Posted by:Goober Crealet3411 |
| #27 And, funny thing, I read an article in Pravda a while ago that made wry fun of Americans trying to move towards socialism. Sometimes I tend to thing someone did something that made this world into a complete asylum. |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2010-06-29 23:31 |
| #26 Keep looking. It feels as if they are already dug in the Obama administration. This Chapman broad is not that attractive. Here, here. I feel slighted. Putie baby, send over of a few of these next time. |
| Posted by: ed 2010-06-29 23:27 |
| #25 Cross, it was not about Russia much as about China. SVR may want to to change their mind set. The old "spy" stuff is anachronistic. There are other ways to gather information that do not attract attention. The concept that Russia is still driven by communist ideas has a very long beard. Putin may be authoritarian and wants Greater Russia, but I have hard time suspecting him from commie sympathies. I think that they are afraid that the chicken planted in the west will come home to roost. Seeing the move of 0gabe administration towards what they discarded may be putting them in a slight panic mode. |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2010-06-29 23:26 |
| #24 I think the Canadians let this cat out of the bag a few days ago and we had to act: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/Foreign+powers+have+infiltrated+Canadian+politics+CSIS+head+says/3188357/story.html I think Russia was doing the same thing in Canada. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-06-29 22:38 |
| #23 ..and told by Moscow to become "Americanized," Definitely not following the DNC playbook. Further, they compounded their offense by not registering to vote Donk in at least one state. Had they done that, Holder probably would have dropped the investigation. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-06-29 22:31 |
| #22 Hey Secret Agent man .... PPPHHTTTHH!!!! |
| Posted by: Goober Crealet3411 2010-06-29 21:52 |
| #21 I'd hit it. I have a weakness for redheads. Call me self-destructive |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-06-29 21:12 |
| #20 This Chapman broad is not that attractive. |
| Posted by: Secret Asian Man 2010-06-29 21:07 |
| #19 I don't understand the program. These people were working in... online real estate? Huh? They didn't know anyone of any consequence inside DoD or State, had no access to any secrets of any value anywhere. Not exactly Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. Looks like stealing mega-billions has made Putin and his FSB handlers complacent and stupid. |
| Posted by: lex 2010-06-29 21:05 |
| #18 I look at Caprica Six, and think, yeah, I'd TOTALLY be an inadvertent accomplice to the genocide of my own race for that. That's why they invented wives, 2M. |
| Posted by: badanov 2010-06-29 20:32 |
| #17 "28-year old...." > *** cough *** cough ***... D *** NGED EXPIRED CONTAMINATED US-BRAND CEREALS! That means at PENN STATE she was only ...... SEXY SLINKY COMMIE JAILBAIT, WHEN YOU KNOW GOING TO GUANTANAMO = SUPERMAX IS WORTH IT! |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-06-29 20:02 |
| #16 What is it about women in red dresses? I look at Caprica Six, and think, yeah, I'd TOTALLY be an inadvertent accomplice to the genocide of my own race for that. Chapman's not that, but hey, only 5 years in the pokey ... |
| Posted by: Mizzou Mafia 2010-06-29 19:45 |
| #15 Heck we've got a red headed female communist as Prime Minister of Australia since the coup last week. Not good looking though. |
| Posted by: Aussie Mike 2010-06-29 19:11 |
| #14 , I can't see the incentive to risk anything for Mother Russia. Unless they thought this was a game. Oh, Russia is worth risking plenty for to a patriotic Russian. Russia may not garner the customary ass kissing that is usually lavished on China, Japan, etc, by westerners, but her culture is one of the oldest on the planet, equal to the Asian Tigers, and has the beauty of both some European and Asian traits. Not only that, Russia rivals us in certain aspects which is why its cultural bounties have kept us longtime foes. |
| Posted by: Dinah Soares 2010-06-29 18:22 |
| #13 Re financial straits: oil, gas .... Re death of ideology: Putin |
| Posted by: lotp 2010-06-29 17:59 |
| #12 Supposedly, there are still some Soviet-era illegals floating around, but they burrowed deep into the woodwork so that their ex-controllers couldn't find them. Seems they like it here. I thought many of the illegals had come in from the cold even before the Cold War was over. Given the KGB's current financial straits and the death of Communist ideology, I can't see the incentive to risk anything for Mother Russia. Unless they thought this was a game. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2010-06-29 17:41 |
| #11 Boy... I can think of all sorts of false information to feed her while being a "victim" of a honeypot plot. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2010-06-29 17:01 |
| #10 By now those old Soviet-era illegals will have long retired on their US government & academic pensions and moved on to that Workers' Paradise in the skies. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-06-29 15:48 |
| #9 Better shots of her here: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/sexy_russian_spy_anna_chapman_2Zmmc1rSqu2H71x3v7BibM |
| Posted by: Goober Crealet3411 2010-06-29 14:00 |
| #8 It just goes to show that hot gingers can't be trusted, so have to be watched carefully. A lot. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-06-29 13:57 |
| #7 This reminds me of the probably apocryphal story of a Texas Congressman taking a trip to the USSR in the 60's. When his CIA briefer explained the concept of a honey-trap to him, the Congressman replied: "Son, if that's the bait they using, they gonna catch ole Bubba every time." |
| Posted by: Matt 2010-06-29 13:46 |
| #6 Too bad she's going to jail. Maybe I could convince the judge to release her under my supervision. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2010-06-29 11:52 |
| #5 Yeah, for a measly $1mil they could have just bought a Illinois Senate Seat. She is kinda good looking, which would have been a dead givaway especially working for NYT. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2010-06-29 11:47 |
| #4 She looks kinda like Jewel Staite (Firefly), with some more boobage and red hair. Quite yummy. Not sure why Russians insist on the 60's spy stuff. She could have worked as NYT staffer and get the secrets first hand with blessings. More exciting? |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2010-06-29 11:15 |
| #3 Bodacious. She can have all the secrets she wants from me. What's a few years in the pokey compared to that? |
| Posted by: Graising Ulinter8671 2010-06-29 11:11 |
| #2 99 fake street? |
| Posted by: Jeremiah Flainter9609 2010-06-29 10:56 |
| #1 Supposedly, there are still some Soviet-era illegals floating around, but they burrowed deep into the woodwork so that their ex-controllers couldn't find them. Seems they like it here. |
| Posted by: mojo 2010-06-29 10:48 |