A Cold War Spy Story
By
Jack Kay
Chapter 1 Opening Gambit
Two events took place in 1945 alerted authorities to worldwide spying. It began with the defection of a cipher clerk named Igor Guzenko from the Russian Embassy in Ottawa Canada. Secondly his passing of numerous arcanum messages to Canadian authorities it caused a furor throughout Russia, the United States and Britain.\
When Guzenko was questioned in secret he exposed a spying network within the Embassy otherwise never known before. Later with the release of the Venona papers it became clear that the level of international spying on the part of Soviets was of major consequence. Through the Guzenko papers it was determined that not only were the Russians sending personnel to stock their Embassies and spy but even more importantly there were a number of sleeper agents in Canada and the USA. Gouzenko exposed Joseph Stalin’s efforts to steal nuclear secrets, and with the technique of planting sleeper agents. The “Guzenko Affair” was just the opening gambit. The Russians had adopted a long-used identity change that provided spies in place for the development of espionage cells. They worked in conjunction with citizens who had turned to communism for various reasons.
From Gouzenko’s clues, the Canadian authorities amassed evidence which led to the arrest and conviction in 1946 of Dr Alan Nunn May, the British scientist who had worked at Chalk River, Ontario, on the Allied atomic bomb project during the war, and who had passed information about his work to the Russians. In fact, Gouzenko brought so much material that the Canadian government set up a Royal Commission on espionage, and eventually eighteen people were prosecuted, nine of whom were convicted. One of these was Kathleen Willsher, who worked in the British High Commission’s registry. She was arrested on 15 February 1946, pleaded guilty to passing secrets to the Russians and, since they were minor secrets, given only three years’ imprisonment.
The clues that led to Willsher included Gouzenko’s information that she worked in “administration” and that her code name was ‘Elli’. But Gouzenko later claimed that he knew of yet another spy for the Russians who was also called ‘Elli’. Unlike Wilsher, this second ‘Elli’ was of great importance. He said that he had learnt of the second ‘Elli’ when he was doing night duty in 1942 in the main military intelligence cypher room in Moscow. A colleague called Liubimov had passed him a telegram from this Soviet intelligence source in Britain. Pressed by his interrogators,
Gouzenko offered a number of clues to the second ‘Elli’s’ identity: he was a man, despite the female code name; he was in British counter-intelligence; he was so im portant he could be contacted only through messages left at prearranged hiding places; and, finally, he had ‘something Russian in his background’. (This could mean, explained Gouzenko, no more than that he had visited the Soviet Union, had a wife with a Russian relative, or had a job to do with Russia.) Gouzenko said that Liubimov had told him that the second ‘Elli’s’ information was so good. that when his telegrams came in, there was always a woman present in the cypher room to read the decrypts and, if necessary, take them straight to Stalin.
If Gouzenko were to be believed, this meant that Moscow had a spy in Britain at the heart of Western intelligence (the CIA was not formed until 1,947), and a hunt began to identify- this second ‘Elli’. The trouble was that Gouzenko kept changing his story. The exact place where ‘Elli’ worked was obviously very important. At first Gouzenko said that ‘Elli’ worked in ‘five of MI’, which could have been either MI5, or Section Five of MI6 (the other name for SIS) - Philby’s section: Later he was confident that ‘Elli’ worked in MI5, but then became less certain and accepted the possibility that he worked in counter-intelligence in SIS.
There were other, independent clues to Elli’s identity. In 1944-5 the FBI had recorded radio messages sent from the Soviet consulate in New York. After the war its codebreakers started work to try to read these messages and in 1948, they began to get results. One message - to the Soviet embassy in London - advised that Gouzenko had. defected and asked that ‘Stanley’ be warned of this fact ‘as soon as he returns to London’. MI5 interpreted this as meaning that a highly placed Russian intelligence officer was in danger of being exposed by Gouzenko and that he could not be warned at that moment because he was abroad and out of contact. But was ‘Stanley’ also ‘Elli’; or were there two Russian agents in British intelligence; and if there were, why had the Russians wanted to warn only one, Stanley?
Over the years the possibilities were whittled down. When Maclean’s defection in 1951 exposed him as a long-serving Soviet agent, it was realized that he could not be either ‘Elli’ or ‘Stanley’ - he was in Washington at the relevant time and in regular contact with his Soviet control. It could not have been Burgess because he was in London. It might just have been Blunt, who was abroad - at the relevant time. The file has never been closed and today, in the late 1980s, there are two schools of thought in Western intelligence.
The first, led by Peter Wright, the former M15 officer in exile in Australia, holds that ‘Elli’ was the late Sir Roger Hollis, director general of M15 from 1956 to 1965, and that Hollis was a Soviet penetration agent of status equal to, if not higher than, Philby. Although an investigation by a joint SIS-MI5 committee could not find any conclusive, evidence against Hollis and although a former secretary of the Cabinet, Lord Trend, reviewed this investigation and could find no substance in the allegations, this school defiantly sticks to its belief.
The second school, which includes at least three former heads of the services, rules out Hollis as ‘Elli’ and believes that ‘Stanley’ was certainly Philby, and that Philby could well have been ‘Elli’ too. He was abroad at the relevant time, on a mission in Istanbul (of which more later); he worked in ‘five of MI’, and he was certainly an important Soviet penetration agent. True, he did not have ‘something Russian in his background’ but Gouzenko was very vague about what this meant. Gouzenko in his old age (he died in 1982) said that he felt that Roger Hollis was ‘Elli’; but in one of his last interviews before his death he said it was possible that Charles Ellis, an Australian-born SIS officer who had a Russian wife, was ‘Elli’.
Gouzenko spoke about a man named Stewart “He was stationed in Washington and asked to see me at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. He read me a long report several typed sheets-paragraph by paragraph. I was astonished to learn that this was the report submitted by the man, who could only have been Hollis, because I could not understand how he had written so much when he had asked me so little.
I soon discovered why because the report was full of nonsense and lies. For instance, he reported me as telling him that I knew, in 1945, that there was a spy working for Britain in a high-level Government office in Moscow. I knew no such thing and had said nothing like that. “
As Stewart read Gouzenko said the report to me it became clear that it had been faked to destroy my credibility so that my information about the spy in M15 called ‘Elli’ could be ignored. If Hollis wrote the report, then there is no doubt that he was a spy. I suspect that Hollis himself was ‘Elli’ and he may have feared that I might recognize him if I had seen a photograph of him in the files in Moscow but as a cypher-clerk I had no opportunity to see photographs.
Gouzenko referred to spies he was aware of in his testimony before the King Royal Commission on spying in Canada and that in his opinion many would continue to elude detection. He often spoke of a man with the code name of Robert.
He was in fact Vasili Glazer an American born spy who had escaped detection for several years and finally disappeared when Gouzenko defected. Glazer was one of many former American citizens that were trained at the Second Directorate of Russia during the 1930’s. They were the offspring of Russian families that had immigrated to the USA in 1920 and became disenchanted with the USA and returned to the Soviet Union.
The Soviets were quick to notice the returnees. Robert was sixteen when his family returned and after some considerable testing and training, he was accepted for the Second Directorate school of Strategic Intelligence. He spoke English with all of the characteristics of an American and he made a superb spy.
Another such spy was a boy named Eugenie Rastacovic (sometimes Rastacovitch) whose parents had left Russia in 1922 and settled in Vancouver. They also became discontented with their country of choice and by 1930 they returned to the Soviet Union taking up residence in Moscow. Within weeks of their arrival, they were interviewed with the result that their son who was 15 years old was selected for training in similar circumstances as Robert. The plan had been expanded by now and the training was being conducted in a special camp outside of Moscow known only as Vesely Lager (Fun Camp).
The camp was divided into three areas, English, French and Spanish only spoken. Once again a cemetery was crabbed for use and the name Eugenie was given was Walter Johnson who was a five year old boy who had died at age five and was buried in the town of Blenheim, Ontario where all of the official births and deaths had been destroyed in fire in the city hall some years before. Walter Johnson was also the name of the famous pitcher for the Washington Senators baseball team for several years. Walter as he was now known was trained in various espionage skills as well as being given a cover in form of an employment expertise. He selected to become a rare book salesperson. It offered him freedom to travel, as well as other various things such as the power to act without any constraints and independently.
As a test he was sent to London England with forged passport as a tourist and passed with excellence. Coincidently at the same time a Canadian tourist visiting in Stalingrad had his passport stolen which was the basis of Walter Johnson’s new life in Canada. Walter Johnson arrived in Quebec City in Canada on the Russian Merchant Ship the Volga on July 18th, 1942, he immediately disappeared which drew the attention of the RCMP. An experienced police officer named Corporal Howard Green was placed in charge of the case. The search for the missing sailor went on for more than 3 months but the Force had other fish to fry, and the case went cold.
Johnson headed to Windsor Ontario across from Detroit Michigan. He was told to obtain a safety deposit box and to place several thousand US and Canadian dollars as well as other materials including code books. The money was to be used for starting up money for his book business and he opened a small office in the Guaranty Trust Building in the downtown area. He also found living accommodation in an apartment building nearby.
He began to advertise in book sellers’ magazines for old used books. Within a few weeks he received several letters with offers. He purchased a number of books a by well known authors and was able to grow his business with his knowledge of the trade. In the meantime, he took numerous photographs of defence facilities in both Windsor and Detroit. And was able to use the newly discovered system of micro dot photography with a miniature camera.
In the spring of 1942, he met with Robert and another deep cover spy named Greg in Chicago where he turned over his findings. He was then given an envelope containing several thousand dollars in Canadian currency and he purchased rare books at an international book sale. At the same time, he gave the duplicate key to the safety deposit box to Robert in order for him to be able to enter the box at will. The books he brought back to Canada in canvas bags, and they were passed by Canadian Customs. Their next meeting was scheduled for Los Angeles California in early fall of the same year. Johnson found that his business was very profitable and that his name of ’Walter’s Books “had become popular with bookstores in Canada.
He made friends with Service people and provincial and federal politicians who were connoisseurs of old books. He travelled very often to Toronto and Ottawa, to meet with them and became privy to some secret information which he came by during lunches and dinners where he was very generous in providing alcoholic beverages. His clientele spoke very freely with him being not aware of anything else except the fact he was a book seller.
However, his life changed on September 5th, 1945, the day Igor Gouzenko defected!
Chapter 2 The Escaper Brings Down the House
Walter had moved from Windsor in the spring of 1945 to Ottawa where he started residence in an apartment on Cooper Street in the heart of Ottawa. He now had access to an enormous number of facilities and people. His gathering system was considered extremely important to the Soviet espionage apparatus. His gathered facts together with information from others were essential.
He was scheduled to meet with Robert and Greg in Los Angelas on September 15th. He was to travel by train from Ottawa to Detroit and board the Century Limited in Chicago. On the morning of September 9th he was awakened by the telephone and it was Robert calling.
“I wonder Mr. Johnson if you have a first edition of the works of Rudyard Kipling published by Wordsworth, I believe they are numbered?”
“Ah yes I do have number 101 in the original series.”
The conversation was in fact nothing to do with the book, it was a warning call to meet as soon as possible at the established rendezvous location in the event of a crisis. The poem referred to was actually on page 101 of the poetry by Rudyard Kipling
“Not where the squadrons mass, Not where the bayonets shine, Not where the big shell shout as they pass Over the firing-line; Not where the wounded are, Not where the nations die, Killed in the cleanly game of war -- That is no place for a spy!
***
They met in Montreal two days later, Walter had gathered up his possessions including some valuable books and left the apartment. They met in a house owned by an unnamed communist follower. Walter was very concerned but knew nothing about the situation.
“We have a major problem”, Robert began. He spoke in Russian so that none of their conversation would be understood outside the room. “A cypher clerk at the Embassy in Ottawa has defected to the Canadians and he has stolen messages disclosing several names and other information, yours, mine and Greg. I am going into hiding and suggest you do the same quoting an illness, also head as far as a you can from here. We will meet again in January next year in the train station in San Diego California. Keep your present identity otherwise there could be trouble. I will deposit money to tide you over in your box in Windsor. It will also act as a location for messages as I will not contact you until the coast is clear. In the event we are unable to stay in contact, do not contact consulates or Embassies, but we can make drops at three locations.
The first will be Stanley Park in Vancouver, the Columbia Valley border crossing area in British Columbia and in Seattle at the Train Station. Here are the exact locations and dates, memorize and destroy in 5 minutes. He handed them each a card that was easily swallowed. Walter and Greg studied the cards and ate them down like a meal. Next, he handed them each a large packet of cash which they quickly placed in their jacket pockets.
“There is absolutely nothing in newspapers or on the radio about this traitor but sooner or later it will appear. I strongly suggest that you seek a very normal life, find a woman and get married and take up home life. Your services will be needed later, but right now we are in a vacuum. My leader has said to stand by for orders.”
With that he left, and Greg departed. Walter checked the cash, and it was 15,000 in Canadian funds. He checked his train schedule and took a cab to the CNR station heading for Calgary Alberta.
Chapter 3 Deep Cover
In early 1946 the Canadian Government announced that the defection of Igor Gouzenko from the Russian Embassy in Ottawa. He had escaped with 109 documents and a virtual alphabetic list of spies both in Canada and Britain and the USA. Walter’s undercover name was ‘Kip’ and appeared three times within the documents. Robert and Greg were also featured in the messages and official papers. Scientist Nun May and 11 others were eventually charged with breaking the official secret acts.
The sailor cold case from 1942. was re instituted at RCMP headquarters in Ottawa and a newly promoted Sgt named Girard Riviere was placed in charge. When he read the file he discovered that it was very thin but a picture of the Soviet sailor was included and taken when he walked from the ship on the Jetty .He recognized that he had lot of work until an information fact that was being circulated about a man who was suspected of being a spy by a landlord in Ottawa. Riviere had the photograph blown up and decided to visit with the man,
Asked why he thought the man was a spy, he said “He paid the rent in cash which is very unusual. He seemed to come and go at times which most others were home in bed, He did not have a job except that he sold books the man had a lot of money.”. The interview went on for quite a while before the RCMP Sgt showed him the picture of the man, which was fuzzy but he made a definite identification. “I would swear that is the man, he was dressed up as most of time he lived here, he wore in a suit or jacket but I can tell because of his height and build it is him.”
Riviere was elated and thanked the man. He now knew the man’s name was Walter Johnson.
***
When Walter left the meeting in Montreal he took the train to Toronto, changing trains there and headed for Calgary. He spoke only to the conductor and fortunately had an empty seat next to him. He bought only sandwiches and coffee from the vendor and avoided the dining car. The trip was quite long, and he slept a lot. A woman across the aisle tried to get in conversation with him but he politely avoided any discussions and gave only short answers and eventually she gave up. After his arrival in Calgary his whereabouts were unknown. He did not transact any business with books and may have sold off his collection piecemeal but the RCMP trail went cold.
In 1949 he surfaced again in Calgary, but he had changed his name and his appearance. He met again with Robert in the Columbia Valley British Columbia Canada border location in the early summer of 1949 and he was given a new identity, that of Lawrence Gordon Thomas. This name was taken from a cemetery in Winnipeg Manitoba and was the plot of a three-year-old child.
He was advised to leave the book business and seek another occupation and handed several thousand dollars. He was also given instructions on obtaining information concerning military bases. Lawrence as he was now known registered at a newly opened Community College where he undertook a course in library science. In 1952 he graduated. He then applied for a job in the local library system where he was hired. It was in this position where he met his future wife.
Chapter 4 Wedded Life
Lawrence now began life in an everyday job where he found enjoyment. His knowledge of book and information regarding many subjects made him an invaluable member of the staff. He became known as Larry and met a 34-year-old spinster named Maggie Shields. She had flaming red hair and was every inch as her name suggested Irish. She was not pretty but had very cute way about her and as well some very definite attractive feminine charms including a very pronounced backside.
Larry and Maggie began dating. He found her very knowledgeable and very much down to earth. He visited several times with her family, and they were very impressed with him. They surprisingly were not religious having walked away in their early lives from the Catholic Church. Maggie was single and had not ever been with a man and retained her virginity. She was however as he discovered very horny. Larry did not have car yet but decided to purchase a new Dodge sedan. He made effort to not make any move on her until they had married but she was insistent and one night in the car on a lonely road they had sex. It was a disaster, and she felt it was his fault. They bandied it around for a few weeks until he told her he would marry her and put an engagement ring on her finger. She was as delighted, and they set the date.
They married in April of 1952 and took up residence in East Calgary in row house near the Military barracks. She never learned anything of his undercover work in Canada. He provided regular intelligence reports to Robert and to another handler who lived in Vancouver named Ralph who was in fact Anatoly Androfsky, who had entered Canada as an illegal in 1950. He was very young to be a member of the GRU but in the beginning handled his work with aplomb but began to live the good life and missed appointments. By 1954 he was sent home. This created a problem for Larry, as Robert had gone to work in the Russian Embassy in Mexico.
Larry received messages but was not able to contact anyone in Canada. Greg had also disappeared which led Larry to believe that he had defected. The idea caused him to have sleepless nights. In addition, his money was running out and he could not support Maggie as well as carry on his spying activities. She continued to work, and it did help but he also realized that if he had a change in his family circumstances he would be in trouble. He took a gamble and surprised her with a vacation to Mexico where he would try and see Robert.
Chapter 5 The Mexican Caper
They flew from Calgary to Vancouver and then to Los Angeles where they had a stopover. Larry was very nervous, but they did not leave the plane. On arrival in Mexico City, they checked into an economy hotel called the ‘Imperioli’ near the main shopping area. He knew that it would be difficult to leave Maggie alone, so he requested a shopping service to take Maggie around to various places while he was supposed to wait for her. She knew he hated shopping, but she loved to walk around in stores and shop for bargains.
He immediately went to the Russian Embassy looking for Valeri Bloom (the Russian code name for Robert). He pressed the bell, and a stocky Russian Guard asked him what he wanted. After requesting to see Robert. another man then appeared and the two spoke in Russian. He was waved into a small enclosure guarded by three men with automatic weapons. He was ushered into a main building where he was told to sit down in front of an attractive young woman who began to speak to him in Spanish, but seeing he did not understand broke into English.
“What may, I ask is your business with Mr. Bloom “she asked casually.
“Only that I am visiting Mexico City and since I knew he was here, and I didn’t know his address that it would be nice to stop in and say hello.”
“Where do you live Mr. Thomas “
“I live in Calgary Canada, I met Mr. Bloom in Ottawa and Windsor Ontario, I am a Librarian and have worked at various jobs prior”.
The woman now addressed him in Russian in a few sentences asking him if spoke the language. He did not respond except to say that he only could understand English, and that he knew that Bloom was a Russian, but they spoke only English.
The woman picked up her phone and reached another party telling them in Russian that Larry was a fraud.
“I am sorry sir but there is no Bloom in this Embassy perhaps the Canadian Embassy.” With that one of the guards waved him to the door. The woman passed him a visitor’s pamphlet and thanked him for visiting. When he arrived back on the street, he noticed on the inside cover of the pamphlet a short note to meet in the Hotel bar at 10:00 pm that night. The man proved not to be Bloom but spoke English to him.
“We wish you had not come to the Embassy but since you have, I am here to advise you that you are to be returned home shortly. Straighten up your affairs and destroy any of the documents in your possession. I suggest also that you say nothing to your wife and when we advise you just disappear. A ticket will be sent to, and you will be expected to be on the plane. Here is some money to cover your expenses.”
With that he departed. When Larry arrived back in the room Maggie was awake and began to question him.
“What is going on Larry, you are acting very strangely? Sneaking out of the room sending me on a shopping excursion and you are just not yourself at all. Why in heavens name did we come to Mexico City, the place stinks of you know what and the streets are filled with people most of whom are begging or selling chewing gum. or cigarettes. This is really not a very nice vacation except for a few bargains.”
He waited for few moments to reply, studying her and focusing on the door, he then walked over and placed a chair again the door handle. Next, he turned up the black and white TV and a clock radio that was on the bedside table. He next took her hand, and they walked to the bathroom where he turned on the shower. He sat her on the toilet while he positioned himself in the ledge of the bathtub. He now spoke in whispers, and she had to place her ear next to his mouth.
“What I am going to tell you is that I am an illegal in Canada. I have been ordered to go back to Russia. I have been here since the early 1940’s. I will tell you the whole story later but now I have to figure out a way of extracting myself and with you start another life. I will not go back because I know they will execute me.”
She cried instantly and waved her hands in desperation, nearly hitting him in the face.
“You are a fake Larry, not a real person and you undertook to marry me and place me in danger. I am such a fool to have trusted you. When were you going to tell me when they were going to courier you back to Russia?
"My father always wondered about you, he said there was a good reason for everything. He said jokingly why would you marry a woman 34 years old when there were so many young things out there? Now I know, you wanted someone who desperately wanted marriage and a family and…….”
The tears now began to roll down her cheeks and she was sobbing uncontrollably. He tried to soothe her, but she threw his arm off and stood up. With that she washed her face in the sink and wiped herself with a towel.
“What now “she whispered in his ear. “I must think” he said turning off the shower and propelling her back into the hotel bedroom. They sat up all night without uttering a word. Just as the sun came up, he had produced a plan. As he said it was not ingenious. They slept for two hours, and he helped her to pack their bags.
When they came down to the front desk to pay the bill, he saw two men whom he knew immediately were from the GRU that worked at the Embassy. They were waiting near the front exit, and he took hold of the bags heading to the cab stand situated near the hotel entrance but altered course and with Magee running behind him took a set of stairs leading to another outlet to the street. Luckily a cab was waiting, and they jumped in, with Larry directing him in English to the Airport.
In instead of going to the Canadian Airlines portal he went to the American Airlines ticket counter.
“I want to fly to Detroit when is the next the flight?’ The youngish desk clerk checked the Airline schedules and with a smile said” You are in luck, the next flight leaving is in 25 minutes and there are several seats, it is via Chicago and arrives in Detroit at 4:00 pm today.
“I want two tickets, do we have to change in Chicago, and what is the fare? The flew in economy to Detroit and took a cab to the Canadian Immigration office.
Maggie made a declaration at the Tunnel Customs office, and he paid some duty, and they were passed back into Canada. They booked a room Palmer Hotel in downtown Windsor and the next day he headed to the bank, and he retrieved some of the money still stored there, being careful to leave some if necessary. The next morning, he called the RCMP and made an appointment.
Chapter 6 The Extraction
The call from Larry came into RCMP Constable Stan Isles who took down the information and immediately placed a call to the RCMP office of Intelligence and National security. All RCMP members had been warned following the Gouzenko escape to take every situation seriously. He explained everything quickly and was told to take the caller into custody immediately.
The speed of action by the RCMP took on a feeling of escape for Larry. Maggie had not uttered a word for two days. He had their meals delivered by room service. Constable Iles arrived at their hotel with another police officer, and they had both of them pack their bags and left the hotel by a side exit. They drove immediately to the Windsor Airport where and headed to a small terminal near the main arrivals building. A small plane was warming up that was marked Government of Canada on the side. Their bags were stowed in after storage cabin and they climbed aboard.
The plane was a single engine Cessna which could take four passengers. The pilot introduced himself and they took off. They were not told their destination and there was no talking as they flew. The weather was sunny and there were very few clouds. Constable Iles had canvas bag from which he withdrew some soft drinks and sandwiches, and they ate a quiet meal. After a two-hour flight they landed. The location was not discernable to either Larry or Maggie, but after their bags had been placed in the trunk of waiting car they were whisked away, and Larry knew instantly that they were in Ottawa.
. Maggie clenched his hand wondering and he whispered to her that they were in Ottawa. They were taken to place that appeared like it was a farm where there were three guards. Constable Iles shook hands with them and they were shown a bedroom and a kitchen area. The man who had met them introduced himself and said he was Sergeant Girard Riviere who had been the original RCMP officer assigned the case in 1947.
Larry realized that for the time being both he and Maggie were safe from the Russians, but he still had to deal with Canada because he was a spy. A meal was served and both and Maggie freshened up and took a short rest. While they were sleeping, two more men arrived and surprisingly they asked to see Maggie.
“Thy both introduced s as security agents of the RCMP, and they told her that she need not say anything but whatever she did say could be used against her in a court of law.
“I absolutely knew nothing about Larry’s subversive activities”. She married him after they met at the Calgary public library. He was a librarian as she was. They hit it off immediately. He took up life as man and wife and in the four year they were married he did not do anything that was not normal. They had an apartment and until the Mexico trip they did not do any travelling. They lived comfortably on their salaries, owned furniture and a car. There was nothing ever different in their everyday life. I never saw or heard him in conversation with on the phone or otherwise. We had a few friends but saw them only on weekends. He liked walking and we did go up to the Banff where my brother Stewart owned a chalet. We did not ski but spent the time skating and talking. We were trying to have child but so far, no luck. I am of Irish birth and my family came to Canada in 1939 when I was a girl. My father is a geologist with the federal department of Mines. My mother is a schoolteacher of English literature at the University of Calgary. They own their own home.
My brother is an employee of an international fabricating company where he is a buyer. My sister Jennie is still at home and goes to college where my mother teaches. I have no political affiliations and neither did Larry. As far as I remember no one other than friends ever came to the apartment. All mail arrived in our apartment mailbox. |Larry did have a small outside business of selling rare and used book and had a post office box for that.”
She stopped and they told her that she would be investigated as well but that it did look like she was in the clear. She was given a cup of tea and ushered into another room where there were a couch and lounge. One of the guards brought her some magazines.
Larry was questioned at some length, about all his work as an illegal undercover agent. He went into his entire sojourn in Canada and the people he was working with. He concentrated on the earlier years and mentioned that he was known as Walter Johnson originally, but the name was altered because of the Gouzenko defection wherein they were afraid his name would surface in the papers.
The questioning went on for several hours and was recorded on a tape-recording machine. At the time because he was not considered a Canadian, he was not afforded the opportunity for legal counsel. But when it was learned later that Walter Johnson was really Canadian Eugenie Rastacovic born in Winnipeg Manitoba all of the testimony was considered taken under duress. Larry decided that he would consent to the use of the testimony in any case against him with a view to getting a lesser sentence.
They spent two weeks in the safe house before being taken to a two-room cabin in the Laurentians which was an early fishing resort. There were three cabins in the enclosure and the ate was managed by o two burly military guards. Over a three-week period, both were questioned by different interrogators.
Most gave only their rank or position. A statement was prepared which was given to Larry and Maggie to sign after reading. Maggie’s statement absolved her of any wrongdoing. She would not however be allowed to return to Calgary because of the danger it presented. Larry however was arrested and told he would be kept in lockup in Rockcliffe at the RCMP barracks until trial.
***
Two Calgary RCMP officers were sent to the Larry’s apartment, to both search and supervise a move to storage of the furniture and effects. Both were dressed in civilian clothes and planned with the manager to be given entry. When they drove up, they noticed black Ford Meteor with two men parked in front of the building. Bob Jackson the older of the two constables said” we have some visitors. drive on and we will double back and have a look.”
They drove around the block waited a few minutes and then drove up behind the Black car. Jackson then picked up the phone on the dash, gave his identity, asking for a rundown on the license of the car. He was told that the car was registered to a car rental company in Calgary.
“I think we need to have a word with them before calling this into HQ.” he said patting his jacket for his gun. Both walked up to the car and just as they came near the Just the presence of the two RCMP officers had driven them away, but not permanently.
The two men returned late that night and entered the apartment through the front door with the use of a plastic card which easily opened the latch. They searched the apartment by flashlight, taking some small items but were not successful in finding any concrete damning material associating Larry as a Soviet spy.
Chapter 7 The Trial
The trial opened on March 12th, 1959, and was held in camera, which in layman’s language is secret, in a H-hut in Rockcliffe with Mr. Justice Theodore Grogan on the bench. He had served in North Africa during the war as an Intelligence officer with General Montgomery’s North African Brigade and returned to Canada to continue the practice of law when in 1955 he was selected to sit on the Federal bench.
The prosecutor was Gordon Bridge a recent arrival from Australia who was Canadian by birth but had gone to Law school in Melbourne. He had high pitched winey voice which became a source of discomfort for everyone in the courtroom. David Goldman an experienced lawyer who had represented several high-level cases was the defense lawyer for Larry who was now called by his real name of Eugenie Rastacovic.
The trial took the usual direction with both lawyers speaking about the case. Goldman described his client as a low-level spy and Bridge said he was a traitor and had hidden for 15 years from the authorities. Goldman brought up the fact that Eugenie had married a Canadian and Bridge replied that it was a spoof to make him self look legitimate. Since there was no jury, Judge Grogan asked a lot of questions, and brought in Maggie as witness and warned her that she was not required to testify against her husband only speak about his character and their life together.
“Nothing he said or would have me believe he was a spy or anything other than a good husband. We were very happy together and he provided for me quite well. We did not however live in the lap of luxury. He spoke nothing but English and never spoke secretly.”
Sgt Riviere was called next and gave evidence on the arrival of Raskovic from Russia. He described the case in full beginning when the ‘sleeper agent’ arrived on a Soviet Russian merchant ship and how the authorities namely the RCMP lost touch and later when the case was reopened at the time of the Gouzenko affair. “If he had not turned himself in, we would not have found him because he is very clever. But he told us when he was questioned that his usefulness to the Soviet cause was over and that they were ordering him to return home as he put it and to leave his wife without any notice. He was unequivocal in his statements that he was not leaving his wife or returning to Russia. The Soviets were not giving up and did try to abduct him possibly while he was still in Mexico. By returning with another airline, he was able to throw them off the scent, but they still persisted and were waiting for him in Calgary as reported by two of our officers. Prosecutor Bridge then questioned the Sgt regarding Eugenie’s place of birth “Has it been fully established where Mr. Rastacovic was actually born.” “He was born in Winnipeg and moved to Vancouver at age. 2 and left Canada when he was about 12 years old. He was trained from about age 13 at a school for sleeper agents and arrived back in Canada in 1942.
Judge Grogan intervened. “Can you comment on actually how much information was given over to the Government of the Soviet Union, in terms of damage to our national security. Anything that is considered by the authorities to be of strategic value and can be divulged that can give us an idea of his treachery towards Canada?”
“I was not given any indication of the value of his illegal activities that would be the sphere of activity of Inspector Yerburgh and his staff of the Intelligence branch. My work on this case was strictly of a police nature.”
Judge Grogan then asked the prosecutor if Inspector Yerburgh could be called. It was agreed he would appear if he were available. The judge then adjourned the case to the next day.
***
After visiting with Eugenie, the next morning, Goldman had a long discussion with Maggie mostly about her finances and how she was going to be able her living expenses in Ottawa and to tell her he had taken the case pro bono. She became very emotional and said that she would pay him some day. She also mentioned that she was getting help from her father and she was living in a bed and breakfast at a very reasonable rate.
The trial reopened the next morning, and a curtain had been placed near the front of the courtroom and when the next witness Inspector Yerburgh was called he appeared behind it and was not seen by anyone in the court. It was explained that he had to remain concealed due to the nature of his employment.
Judge Grogan took it upon himself to recapitulate his restatement from the previous day.
The inspector began his evidence by saying: -” much of what information we have collected on this defendant is supposition and flimsy case study. Mainly because he was exceptionally clever. Having said that I must admit that I believe that Raskovic really was not a very good spy and just enjoyed living in Canada. I cannot discuss our information, but I said very cleverly in being able to stay invisible and out of sight, nothing except for the fact that he had an undercover was the appellation of KIP which appeared in the Gouzenko papers, his actual name never appeared anywhere in secret documents. He has however provided us with an enormous amount of classified information on Soviet activity in North America and in Britain to some degree including the names of some other sleeper agents in Canada and overseas. I am unable to divulge any other top-secret files to the court.”
Judge Grogan asked if there were any more witnesses and when the answer was in the negative asked for final summations.
Goldman spoke of the fact that it was clear that his client was a poor spy and that he did turn himself in and there was no real proof that anything was stolen. Further, he has provided an enormous trove of knowledge about current spying and illegals in North America and that the FBI has been given copies of his statements.
Bridge spoke for several minutes reiterating his original premise that Eugenie betrayed his own country and accepted several thousand dollars to do so. Whether he stole anything or not was not to be considered, he was an undercover spy working on behalf of a foreign country. Bridge then asked for the longest term that the judge had authority to give twenty-five years in the federal penitentiary in Kingston.
“This man was a menace to our civilized Canadian society, and we must establish a very high penalty for this criminal behavior.” droned Bridge.
Judge Grogan adjourned the trial and said he would return in three weeks with a verdict.
Chapter 8 The Verdict
The court reconvened within the three-week period. Judge Grogan went over some of the salient measures of the evidence and went on to say in addressing Eugenie: -
“The real reason you came to us is that you were fearing grievous harm. You made a job out of spying on your own country and now you ask us to forgive you. I will say however note that your childhood was taken from you as they used your teen age knowledge of English to their advantage eventually sending you here as an undercover agent. At any moment when you arrived or thereafter you could have stepped aside and gone to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. You carried on with this subterfuge, and in doing so and by my estimates pocketed some one hundred and fifty thousand dollars! I also think that the most abhorrent and intolerable undertaking by you was to marry a young humane Canadian woman who did not see through your cunning and as we are told knew absolutely nothing of your scheming and married you at face value. “
The judge stopped at this point as Maggie could be heard quite loudly weeping.
“In my private discussions, Inspector Yerburgh has advised me that you have volunteered to provide information regarding spying in North America and beyond and the FBI in the United States and wish to conduct numerous interviews with you. You no doubt have enormous facts to and supply on Soviet spy craft. I have at hand a four-page memorandum outlining their request. Do you have anything to say before I pass my judgment and sentence Mr. Rostropovich?”
He stood in his place in the dock and looked around the room and removed his eyeglasses from a case in his pocket.
“I must admit to everyone that my entire life has been a lie. Until I met and married Maggie I had little understanding of love, patriotism, freedom or any of the factors of democracy. I was living in a vacuum, and my options were extremely limited. My only way out was to report to the RCMP and that is what I did. I cannot tell you how badly I feel for Maggie. What I did was reprehensible and no doubt she will move on without me. I can only ask the Lord God for mercy on my soul.
Justice Grogan thanked him for his admission and to agree to help the Intelligence community and then moved on with the sentencing phase of the trial. “If only for the fact you turned yourself and will provide information to the intelligence community, I would have sentenced you to the maximum under the law of 25 years in prison with your citizenship in Canada to be revoked. I, therefore, sentence you to ten years in maximum security in Kingston Ontario with the possibility of parole. Since you been charged under the most serious crime in the criminal code under treason: -anyone without lawful authority, communicates or makes available to an agent of a state other than Canada, military or scientific information or any sketch, plan, model, article, note or other crimes has committed high crimes under the statute. Mr. Justice Grogan pounded his gavel and declared” This trial is completed”
Chapter 9 Aftermath
Several facts emerged after the trial. A number of Cold war spies were apprehended in the United States and in Britain particularly a husband-and-wife team in Britain. Eugenie was prisoner number 45668 but returned legally to his Canadian name of Lawrence Thomas for his protection.
The RCMP questioned him intensively various times while he was in prison. Within two years he was transferred to a detention facility in Ottawa where he took over the management of the library. He was granted a parole hearing in 1960 after 3 years in confinement. The parole was granted but he was required to see a parole officer every week and not granted a Canadian passport. He found work in an Ottawa bookstore and was kept under observation.
The FBI in Washington and MI5 in Britain discussed numerous facets of his training and various other facets of his life as a spy. The visits ended in 1962.
Maggie had not given up on him and she and stayed in Ottawa waiting for his release. In 1963 he was reunited with her, and they moved to Windsor Ontario where they obtained. employment at the public library. In 1967 they both celebrated Canada’s 100th birthday by adopting a two-year-old Chinese child whose name was Blossom. Maggie was absolutely overjoyed. Larry eventually became the branch manager and they both became loving parents.
The secrecy surrounding Larry’s work as a spy never surfaced but after his passing in 1992 and Maggie’s sudden death in a car crash in 1993 Blossom who was now twenty-six was left to sort out the estate. Nothing unusual occurred until the summer of 1995. Blossom had taken work in Chatham Ontario near Windsor and was engaged to a young man who was working for Ontario Hydro. She had any mail that was sent to her father or mother forwarded to her new address.
She received a notice from the Dominion bank in Windsor for payment on a safety deposit box of which she was unaware. She called the bank but could not get information on the phone. She and her boyfriend travelled the short distance to Windsor where she was informed, that she needed the duplicate key to the box before it could be opened. She provided death certificates for both her mother and father but was further advised that a copy of their will was required where she was shown as estate having been bequeathed to her. After traveling back and forth the box was opened for her and to her astonishment contained items that she could not understand or believe.
Chapter 10 the Safety Deposit Box
The box contained over 50,000 Canadian dollars in old bills, several code books in Cyrillic writing and piles of pads for sending coded messages. The last message was dated in 1953 and was in Russian. She asked if the box was used by her father and as she left the bank after paying for the rental and putting all the material into a shopping bag reached the entrance and was accosted by four large men in raincoats. They had been watching the bank on the advice of the manager. He had told them that the box was to be accessed, and they immediately responded.
Blossom was extremely upset but was taken into custody. When questioned by the men who RCMP and were two local police detectives she said only that she was unaware of the box until informed by the bank and that she had the authority as the executor of her parent’s estate. After several hours of questioning the contents of the box was confiscated by the police. The reason for all the furor over the contents was never divulged to her with the result she was always left to wonder what kind of life her parents had led. She will find out in 2020 when she is 56 years old when the file on the spy Eugenie Rastacovitch is opened to the public.
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