Ronald Pelton

Ronald Pelton
Born	(1941-11-18)November 18, 1941 Benton Harbor, Michigan,U.S.
Died	September 6, 2022(2022-09-06)(aged 80) Frederick, Maryland,U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	National Security Agencyofficer
Criminal status	Deceased
Children	4
Conviction(s)	Espionage (18 U.S.C. § 794) Attempted espionage (18 U.S.C. § 794) Conspiracy to commit espionage (18 U.S.C. § 794) Unauthorized disclosure of classified information concerning communications intelligence (18 U.S.C. § 798)
Criminal penalty	3life sentencesplus 10 years

Ronald William Pelton(November 18, 1941 – September 6, 2022) was aNational Security Agency(NSA)intelligence analystwho was convicted in 1986 ofspyingfor and selling secrets to theSoviet Union.One such top secret operation he compromised wasOperation Ivy Bells.

Pelton was born inBenton Harbor, Michigan,and graduated in 1960 in the upper 25 percent of his high school class.

Prior to his employment by the NSA, Pelton served in theUnited States Air Force.He was taught theRussian languageby the Air Force and served for a time in the early 1960s inPeshawar,Pakistan, as a voice intercept processing specialist. After that 15-month tour, he was transferred to the National Security Agency, where he continued as a civilian employee upon discharge.

Pelton filed forpersonal bankruptcyin 1979 and resigned from his $24,500-a-year job ($102,900 today) with the NSA A Group. From 1980 to 1984 he held several jobs, none within the intelligence community.In 1984, Pelton faced financial difficulties due to increasing homeowners' taxes and a mounting series of necessary repairs on his private residence.

Pelton contacted the Soviet Embassy inWashington, D.C.,on January 14, 1980, and arranged for a meeting at the embassy. TheFBIhad surveillance on the embassy and had tapped the phone. Therefore, it anticipated the arrival of the caller but was unable to observe him in time to determine his identity. He was debriefed byKGBofficerVitaly Yurchenkoand disclosedOperation Ivy Bells,an NSA andUnited States Navyprogram to surreptitiously wiretapundersea communication cablesto monitor Soviet military communications and track Soviet submarines.

On trips toViennain 1980 and 1983, Pelton stayed at the residence of the Soviet Ambassador to Austria and underwent debriefing sessions that sometimes lasted eight hours a day with KGB officer Anatoly Slavnov. Even though Pelton had left the NSA, he may have continued to be valuable to the Soviets as an intelligence consultant, helping them interpret data obtained from other sources. Pelton had no classified documents to offer but relied on his memory to provide information.He was paid about $37,000 by the Soviets.

In 1985,Vitaly Yurchenkodefected to the United States and, among other things, recalled that he had met with a former NSA analyst in 1980 and described him as red-haired. The FBI scoured NSA personnel files until it had a pool of red-haired male analysts. They were thus able to identify Pelton's voice and began surveillance on him in October 1985. Despite bugging his car and his home, they were unable to find any incriminating evidence against Pelton.

Therefore, the FBI decided to confront Pelton directly, playing the tape of his conversation with the Soviet embassy. Eventually Pelton revealed that he had provided answers to questions from the Soviets in return for $35,000. Pelton was tried and convicted of espionage in 1986 and sentenced to three concurrentlife sentencesplus ten years. He was also fined $100.

Pelton was federal inmate number 22914-037, incarcerated at theFederal Correctional Institution, Allenwood,a medium-security facility inPennsylvania.Because the federal government still had parole at the time, he had the opportunity for release. Pelton was released from prison on November 24, 2015.

Pelton died inFrederick, Maryland,on September 6, 2022, at the age of 80.