Robert Lee Johnson (spy)
Encyclopedia
Robert Lee Johnson was an American
sergeant
who spied for the Soviet Union
.
Johnson volunteered to spy for the KGB while he was stationed at Berlin
, Germany
. He also recruited a former Army friend, James Mintkenbaugh. Johnson worked for the KGB between 1953 and 1964, and passed on information while stationed at various sites in Europe and the U.S.
Most famously, when working in the U.S. courier center at Orly Airport
south of Paris, he occasionally had night duty alone in the center, where dispatches arrive to and from Air Force and Army bases in Europe. He used to come out of the center and hand KGB contacts envelopes full of documents to photocopy. They had a car waiting and sped to the Soviet embassy, photographed the documents, replaced them, and resealed the envelopes so there was no trace that they had been opened. Then they rushed them back to Orly to get them to Johnson before he went off duty in the morning.
In 1964, Johnson was turned in by his wife, and like Mintkenbaugh, received a 25-year prison sentence in 1965.
Johnson, who was imprisoned at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary
, was stabbed to death there by his son in 1972.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
who spied for the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Johnson volunteered to spy for the KGB while he was stationed at Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He also recruited a former Army friend, James Mintkenbaugh. Johnson worked for the KGB between 1953 and 1964, and passed on information while stationed at various sites in Europe and the U.S.
Most famously, when working in the U.S. courier center at Orly Airport
Orly Airport
Paris-Orly Airport is an airport located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris, France. It has flights to cities in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, North America and Southeast Asia. Prior to the construction of Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly was...
south of Paris, he occasionally had night duty alone in the center, where dispatches arrive to and from Air Force and Army bases in Europe. He used to come out of the center and hand KGB contacts envelopes full of documents to photocopy. They had a car waiting and sped to the Soviet embassy, photographed the documents, replaced them, and resealed the envelopes so there was no trace that they had been opened. Then they rushed them back to Orly to get them to Johnson before he went off duty in the morning.
In 1964, Johnson was turned in by his wife, and like Mintkenbaugh, received a 25-year prison sentence in 1965.
Johnson, who was imprisoned at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary
Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary
The United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg is a male inmate high security federal penitentiary and satellite minimum security prison camp housing some 1,000 and 500 respectively, just outside Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The Lewisburg Penitentiary was opened in 1932...
, was stabbed to death there by his son in 1972.