William Kampiles
| William Kampiles | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 21, 1954 |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Vasili, Billy |
| Known for | Cold War |
William Peter Kampiles, born on December 21, 1954, was a Central Intelligence Agency employee during the Cold War.
Born into an immigrant family, he grew up in Hegewisch, on the far south side of Chicago. His family was poor, living in small rental apartments. He was an arrogant young man with dreams of becoming wealthy. He was disappointed with his low-ranking status as a CIA clerk, and he decided to steal a top-secret KH-11 spy satellite manual from his employers in 1977 for monetary gain. Afterwards, he resigned from his job, flew to Greece, and sold the manual to the Soviet embassy in Athens in return for $3,000. Kampiles subsequently returned to the United States and informed his former CIA bosses of what he had done, in the mistaken belief that he would be recruited as a double agent; instead, he was charged with espionage by the US Government, put on trial in 1978, and convicted. He was arrested before he could leave the country with his mother. He had told friends he had plans to buy a restaurant/bar in Athens and had purchased tickets for himself and his mother. He was originally sentenced on November 17, 1978, to 40 years imprisonment; however, his prison sentence was later reduced to 19 years, and he was released on 16 December 1996, after serving 18 years as Federal Prison inmate "04028-164".
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