The Spy Who Got Away

This is the true story of Edwrd Lee Howard, for 2 years a member of the CIA, who in the autumn of 1985 defected to Moscow. Once there he betrayed the methods used by the CIA to contact spies, which lead to the arrest and execution of Soviet Defense Researcher Adolf G.Tolkachev and was responsible for the break up of the then CIA network in Moscow.

Howard's case exposed major flaws inside the CIA. The Agency hired a man they knew drank heavily and used drugs. It ignored early warnings on his first polygraph test. It selected him for Moscow, its most sensitive post, despite a lack of experience. Howard is the only CIA agent to have got away. He now lives in Moscow. His wife, Mary, who was also a full time employee of the CIA, still lives in the USA.