Ryan Fogle: CIA 'spy' is a former frat boy who loved the Daily Show it has emerged as U.S. ambassador summoned to Russian foreign office over embarrassing arrest
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- U.S. diplomat Ryan Christopher Fogle was arrested on Monday
- Russia claims he was attempting to recruit a Russian secret services official to the CIA
- Letter allegedly found on him offers agents $1million per year to defect
- U.S. ambassador summoned to Russian foreign ministry to explain today
- Fogle graduated his $22,000-a-year Missouri high school in 2002 before attending Colgate University in New York where he was in a fraternity
- Parents are wealthy philanthropists in St. Louis
By Daily Mail Reporter and Paul Thompson
PUBLISHED: 09:16 EST, 15 May 2013 | UPDATED: 11:20 EST, 15 May 2013
Frat boy: Ryan Fogle, pictured, the U.S. diplomat arrested for being a spy is a former frat boy and avid fan of the Daily Show
A 29-year-old American who was almost comically arrested wearing a blonde wig and carrying a compass in Russia on Monday is a former frat boy and avid fan of the Daily Show, it has emerged.
Ryan Fogle, a third secretary at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, has been ordered to leave the country and American Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, was today summoned to the Foreign Ministry to discuss the embarrassing arrest.
As McFaul attempts to repair the already strained relationship between Russia and the U.S., more details have come to light about the so-called spy who was allegedly caught with a letter attempting to recruit an officer from one of Russia's special services to work with the CIA, as well as two wigs, three pairs of sunglasses, cash and a knife, among other things.
A St. Louis, Missouri, native, Fogle graduated in 2002 from $22,000-a-year high school Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School before heading to upstate New York to study at Colgate University, where he graduated four years later.
The alleged spy was very active at college. He pledged to the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and was also elected by his peers to the Konosioni Senior Honor Society, a group of 26 students tasked each year with preserving and promoting 'a greater appreciation and understanding of Colgate's honored heritage and celebrated traditions.'
Fogle participated in student government and was elected to serve as an election commissioner at the end of his sophomore year.
In his first year on campus, Fogle was part of a committee that organized lectures for students and in 2003 he helped plan one such lecture featuring former Daily Show contributor Mo Rocca.
Arrested: The US diplomat - suspected by the Russian of being a CIA agent - was named as Ryan Christopher Fogle. He was arrested last night in Moscow
Wealthy: Ryan Fogle attended $22,000-a-year high school Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, pictured
College: He then studied at Colgate University, pictured, in Hamilton, New York, where he was in a fraternity
Talking about the lecture in the student newspaper, he said: 'Not only is Mo Rocca a comedian, but he is extremely talented and well known. Almost everyone here watches the Daily Show with some consistency. When he's on the show he's absolutely hilarious.'
Former college friends of alleged CIA spy Ryan Fogle spoke of their surprise at his arrest - and the blonde wig he was wearing.
Casey McCormack, who was in the year above Fogle, remembers him from their time together as members of the Konosioni Honors Society.
He said: 'I didn't know him that well, but when I saw the picture in the papers my first thought was "what is with that wig." That was what struck me.'
McCormack confirmed that members of the Phi Delta frat house often staged parties where they would don disguises and he said Fogle was an active participant.
Another former college friend, identified as Carly H, told Vanity Fair magazine she was surprised Fogle was caught wearing such an ill fitting wig.
It has led to the 26 year old being dubbed him 'James Blonde.'
Family: Fogle grew up in St. Louis with parents Jim and Pat, pictured
Kindhearted: Fogle's father, Jim, pictured right, is a lawyer but, along with his wife, not pictured, spends time volunteering with charity Rainbow Village
Carly said: 'Apparently years spent in a frat in a small middle of nowhere college where entertainment solely involves themed mixers and costume parties were insufficient preparation for him to choose the right wig.'
Asked what sort of disguise a Colgate student might wear, she added: 'You have your garden-variety 80s party—less useful in blending in Russia (...actually, maybe more useful, given Russian street-fashion.) Then there's the cowboys-and-Indians theme, a study in anthropological character-acting.'
Carly said the months spent living on campus at Colgate in the cold New York winters would have prepared Fogle for life in Russia.
'Colgate students wear as many layers of Patagonia as possible. Except for the ladies on going-out nights—then there was just one black 'going-out fleece.' It's less to keep track of and provides easier access to the 'going-out top' worn beneath. I can't say whether perhaps Mr. Fogle wore layers of things other than Patagonia to prepare for his time in Russia, but I have a hunch that Patagonia is not as common over there.'
Another college friend, who did not want to be named, described Fogle as 'a very serious guy who was focused on getting the best possible grades.'
'He joined many of the groups and was active on campus in welcoming new students to the area,' he said. 'That's why he received an award. He was a real friendly guy.'
Relations: U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul walks outside as he leaves the Russian Foreign Ministry headquarters in Moscow. He was summoned to explain the alleged espionage mission of one of his diplomats
The friend added: 'I had to laugh when I saw the photo of Ryan in that terrible wig. What was he thinking?'
Fogle was clearly fond of his college experience as he kept in touch with pals after he left the Hamilton, New York, school, even attending a Colgate-Georgetown football game in late 2007 with former classmates.
According to Talking Points Memo, a winter issue of the Phi Delta Theta newsletter included contact information for Fogle in Virginia and indicated that he wanted to correspond with fraternity members, though the reason was unclear.
The website also reports that the email address he listed in the newsletter was the same as one of a number identified in late 2011 by hackers Anonymous as belonging to subscribers to the global intelligence company Stratfor.
The alleged spy has a Facebook page, though there are no public photos of him, just a selection of pictures of places he has presumably traveled to, with one being the Kremlin.
Fogle's parents were refusing to comment when contacted at their home in St Louis.
His father works as a lawyer with the St Louis law firm Thompson-Coburn where he specializes in taxation and health care.
Fogle's mother Pat is understood to be a stay at home mom but along with her husband is actively involved in a St Louis area charity called Rainbow Village which helps houses people with developmental problems.
Lure: Sources today said that Ryan Fogle, right, was seeking to lure into treachery an FSB agent who had knowledge of Russian intelligence operations on suspected Boston terrorist Tamerlan Tsarnaev, left
The couple have posed for photographs alongside people they have helped by building them specially adapted homes
Reached by the phone by Mail Online she said: 'We are making no comment.'
Today, Ambassador McFaul entered the ministry's building in central Moscow in the morning after he was summoned to explain the alleged espionage mission of one of his diplomats and left half an hour later without saying a word to journalists waiting outside the compound.
A Foreign Ministry statement said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov handed McFaul a formal protest over Moscow's claim that it caught Fogle trying to recruit a counterintelligence officer for the CIA during their meeting, though they also discussed other international issues.
Fogle's detention appeared to be the first case of an American diplomat in Moscow publicly accused of spying in about a decade.
But U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell has played down the impact of the Fogle arrest on US-Russian relations, saying 'I'm not sure I would read too much into one incident one way or another.'
Others have cast doubt on the 'spy kit' Fogle was supposedly found with and suggested it might have been planted by the FSB, the Russian secret service, to maximize embarrassment for Fogle.
Aki Peritz, a former CIA official and counter-terrorism analyst, said: 'Just the amounts of money here suggest there is something a bit fishy going on. You have to ask if this was all a set up?
Claims: The FSB counter intelligence service said the envoy, a third secretary in the political section of the American embassy was caught red handed seeking to recruit a Russian intelligence officer
Seized: After his arrest, he was taken to the FSB headquarters at the Lubyanka, in Moscow, and later handed over to the US embassy in keeping with diplomatic protocols
'Moscow is the toughest, most saturated counter-intelligence environment in the world. It doesn't feel right that he's carrying wigs, a bundle of money, a compass, two pairs of sunglasses – at night – and a letter that all screams "I'm a spy".
'Maybe he [Fogle] was a young case officer who's been under surveillance for some time, but you do get the feeling perhaps that the Russians are trying a bit too hard with this.'
Mark Galeotti, a security and espionage expert at New York University, also said it was possible the FSB had caught a low-level CIA operative and then decided to 'ice the cake' by furnishing him with a '1970s spy kit and a $1m letter'.
'I'm sure the way Russia is handling this was a political decision made at or near the top,' he said in a telephone interview. 'Part of this is a message to the United States saying, "don't take us for granted." But mostly, this is a message for the internal constituency.'
However, it has also been reported that Fogle's arrest was linked to the Boston bombing.
Sources have revealed the man the accused CIA spy was trying to 'recruit' was an FSB agent who specialized in Islamic extremism in Russia and may even have traveled to the region where the bombing suspects came from.
It is thought that he was part of a team who went to Dagestan and provided intelligence to the United States about an extremist threat in 2011.
Just call me James... blond? Russian intelligence services parade the 'CIA spy', named as Ryan Christopher Fogle, for cameras on Monday
Fogle was carrying special technical equipment, disguises, written instructions and a large sum of money when he was dramatically pinned to the ground by undercover law enforcement.
The Foreign Ministry hit out at 'provocative acts in the spirit of the Cold War,' and ordered the expulsion of Fogle.
'This does not contribute to the further process of building mutual trust between Russia and the United States and bringing our relations to a qualitatively new level,' warned Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian president Vladimir Putin.
But it was becoming clearer today that the U.S. was seeking to lure into treachery an FSB agent who had knowledge of Russian intelligence operations on suspected Boston terrorist Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who lived in America but had travelled to Dagastan where he was believed to have met Islamic extremists.
The FSB had earlier warned the FBI about his potential extremist links.
In material released by the FSB, it is clear the Americans had phone numbers for one or more Russian intelligence agents involved in anti-terrorism work in the Caucasus.
They obtained these during trip involving FBI agents to Dagestan in search of intelligence on Tamerlan's trip.
'After the first call he refused to meet, but this man called again and insisted on a meeting,' said a recording of a FSB officer addressing three US diplomats who came to collect the alleged CIA agent from FSB headquarters.
'At first we did not believe it was happening, because recently the FSB has been actively helping to investigate the Boston blasts, and was also providing some other information about threats to US national security'.
Today Kommersant newspaper said: 'It is likely that during the trip in April the US side obtained the phone numbers of Federal Security Service (FSB) agents.'
'Clearly, they then decided to use it to have personal contacts with anti-terror agents, given that the exchange of information in the form of question and answers between special services is not always quick and smooth,' it said.
Russia has not named the target of the US co-operation, and it is not known whether the agent has faced any problems or even arrest over the US interest in him.
Fogle apparently hinted at an initial payment of $100,000 followed up a salary of up to $1 million a year plus bonuses if the Russian intelligence official handed over secrets to the CIA.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had opted not to bring up the case at talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday in Sweden.
'I decided that talking about it would be superfluous, since it is already made public and everyone already understands everything,' he said.
Fogle was the first American diplomat to be publicly accused of spying in Russia in about a decade.
While relations between the two countries have been strained, officials in both Washington and Moscow sought to play down the incident.
Fogle was caught in Vorontsovski Park, an area in south-east Moscow, the FSB said.
Statement: 'Recently, the US intelligence service has made repeated attempts to recruit the staff of Russian law enforcement agencies and special services,' according to the FSB
Stash: He was detained with 'special technical devices, written instructions for the person he was recruiting, a lot of cash, and things to help change one's appearance,' according to the FSB
Mission: The website of the American embassy in Russia informs that its Political Section is engaged in 'bringing to the attention of the Russian government the US position on the issues of foreign policy and security'
Questions: A letter the agent carried suggested the US government was willing to pay up to $1 million a year plus bonuses to his unidentified potential Russian recruit, if the letter released by the FSB is genuine
Release: Fogle was held overnight before being released to U.S. officials and expelled from Russia
A letter in Russian which Fogle carried suggests – if genuine – that the CIA hoped to reel in a big fish.
Addressed ‘Dear friend’, it states: ‘We are ready to offer you $100,000 [£65,000] and discuss your experience, expertise and co-operation, and the payment may go much higher if you are ready to answer certain questions.
‘For long-term co-operation we offer $1million [£650,000] per year.’
The recruit is instructed to use an internet cafe to ‘create a new Gmail mailbox which you will use only for staying in touch with us’.
The incident is the biggest spy scandal since the arrest of glamorous agent Anna Chapman and nine other Russians in the US in 2010.
The FSB stated: ‘Recently, the US intelligence community has made repeated attempts to recruit employees of Russia’s law-enforcement bodies and special agencies.’
Many details remained shrouded in mystery last night. It is not known whether the target was part of the sting operation or if they have been arrested.
Russia’s haste to make the news public could mean either that the attempt was so audacious that it shocked leaders, or that hardliners have seized on it to stop a move towards detente with the US.
Yesterday Patty Fogle, the diplomat’s mother, refused to comment at her home in St Louis, Missouri.
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