How was Robert Hanssen caught?

In February 2001, agents arrested Robert Hanssen in Foxstone Park in the Washinton suburb of Vienna, Va, a few blocks from his home, after he had left classified documents in a garbage bag at a dead drop for his Russian handlers under a wooden footbridge.

Hanssen seemed unsurprised at finally being caught.

He was charged with selling US intelligence documents to the Soviet Union and subsequently Russia for more than $1.4 million in cash and diamonds for over 22 years. After the arrest, he was initially detained at the Alexandria Adult Detention Centre.

To avoid the death penalty, Hanssen pleaded guilty to 14 counts of espionage and one of conspiracy to commit espionage. He was sentenced to 15 life terms without the possibility of parole and was promptly transferred to ADX Florence, where he remained incarcerated until he died in 2023.