George Trofimoff - Espionage

Espionage

Throughout his career with the United States Army, Trofimoff held SECRET and TOP SECRET clearances, and received periodic briefings in handling classified information. In 1969, George Trofimoff became the Chief of the United States Army Element at the Nuremberg Joint Interrogation Center (JIC). The JIC, a center for questioning defectors and refugees from the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries, was jointly run by American, French, and West German intelligence services. Colonel Trofimoff had access to all classified information received by or produced by U.S. Army Intelligence at the JIC.

His indictment states that, following his promotion to head of the U.S. Army at the JIC, Trofimoff renewed his acquaintance with his foster brother Igor Susemihl. Under the monastic name Iriney, Susemihl had become a hieromonk and a Bishop within the Russian Orthodox Church. After learning that Trofimoff was chronically short of funds, Bishop Iriney "recruited him into the service of the KGB." The Indictment states that the KGB possessed several similar collaborators among Moscow Patriarchate clergy, both inside and outside of the USSR.

At the time, Iriney was auxiliary bishop of Munich and West Germany, but later became the Metropolitan of Vienna and Austria in 1975. He continued to hold this position until his death in 1999.

Beginning in the 1960s, Trofimoff and the Metropolitan met often and maintained a close personal relationship. In a 1999 conversation with an undercover FBI agent, Trofimoff described his recruitment as follows,

"...it must have been the '70s. But it was very informal... There were no photographs, there was just talking... He would ask me something and I would tell him something.. verbal information.. He had a few questions about current events... First, it was just a conversation between the two of us... He would ask my opinion on this and that... Then, he would maybe ask me, 'Well, what does your unit think about it?' Or, 'What does the American government think about it?'"

Upon being asked whether Bishop Iriney's actions made him suspicious, Trofimoff responded,

"No, not in the beginning... I said I needed money. And I told him my wife bought some furniture and I can't pay for it, I don't know how to get the money. And he says, 'I tell you what, I'll loan it to you.' So he gave me, I think, 5,000 marks and then, it wasn't enough, because I needed more, and about three or four weeks later I said to him, 'You gotta help me one more time, and I'll give it back to you when I have a chance.' ...And that was the end of it. Then he talked to me a couple times. Always like this. Then he says, 'Well, you know, I'll tell you what. You don't owe me any money... And if you need some more, I can give you some more... Don't worry about it. You're going to have to have a few things, this and that.' And this is how it started."

In 1999, Col. Trofimoff boasted that he routinely smuggled every classified document he could obtain home to be photographed with a special camera and tripod. The film was passed on to KGB agents during meetings in Austria. According to former KGB General Oleg Kalugin, however, Colonel Trofimoff, who was given the code name "Markiz," always received his money from Metropolitan Iriney.

Trofimoff further explained that Metropolitan Iriney paid him a standard amount of 7,000 Deutschmarks per week. The payments were always made in used bills and when Trofimoff needed more money toward a down payment on his house, the Metropolitan "went to his contact in Moscow," and returned with 90,000 DM. This sum was then worth 40,000 American dollars.

In 2001, General Kalugin testified under oath to having invited Metropolitan Iriney to visit his dacha in 1978. According to Kalugin "He did good work, particularly in recruiting Markiz. I wanted to thank him for what he had done."

In 1999, Trofimoff further explained that Metropolitan Iriney ordered him to cease his espionage work for the KGB in 1987. According to Trofimoff "...he told me to destroy the camera, so I smashed it with a hammer and I threw it in the garbage, far away."

The German BKA, the FBI, and U.S. Federal prosecutors allege that Trofimoff was paid $250,000 over the course of his espionage career. According to Kalugin, Colonel Trofimoff was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner, which he describes as the USSR's "highest military award for meritorious and dangerous service." General Kalugin further states "After all, he deserved the award for the work he did for us."