Report: Moscow spy saga tied to Boston bombings case

Doug Stanglin | USA TODAY

The U.S. diplomat expelled for allegedly spying for the CIA was trying to recruit a senior Russian intelligence officer involved with fighting terrorism in the North Caucasus, the region linked to the suspects in the Boston bombing case, the Russian newspaper Kommersan reported, quoting Russian security service sources.

The Russian Foreign Ministry declared Ryan Fogle, a third secretary in the U.S. Embassy's political section, persona non grata on Wednesday and ordered him to leave the country. He was detained by officers of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Monday night.

Kommersant, quoting "participants of the special operation," said Fogle "was trying to recruit an FSB officer in charge of the fight against terrorism in the North Caucasus."

Russian state television aired footage Wednesday from Russia's security services claiming that another alleged American spy was expelled earlier this year.

In the footage, a man sitting in near darkness who was identified only as an FSB operative said a "CIA operative" was expelled in January. He said the FSB then asked its U.S. counterparts to halt this "disturbing activity."

The man also claimed the Russians had been shadowing Fogle since he began his Moscow posting in 2011.There was no immediate way for the Associated Press to confirm that the person in the video was indeed an FSB operative.

Regarding the latest incident, the FSB released photos showing Fogle, 29, being handcuffed face down while wearing a blond wig under his baseball cap. It also showed wigs, sunglasses, a Moscow map and packets of Euros allegedly in Fogle's possession.

In addition, the security service released a letter that Fogle was allegedly carrying that purportedly spelled out the terms of the CIA's recruitment effort, including a promise of $100,000 for discussing future cooperation and up to $1 million a year for providing information.

Kommersant quoted the sources as saying the Americans apparently got the phone numbers of Russian anti-terrorism officials during meetings about the April 15 Boston bombings.

Two suspects in the Boston Marathon attack, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, lived in the Boston area, but were born in Russia and had moved with their parents to the United States.

Tamerlan, 26, was killed during a police shootout three days after the bombing. Dzhokhar, 19, was wounded in the operation and was later captured. He has been charged in the bombings and is being held at a prison medical center.

Last year, when Tamerlan took a six-month trip to the Russian republic of Dagestan, where he parents had once again re-settled, Russian officials twice exchanged messages with first the FBI, then the CIA, inquiring about Tamerlan and any possible ties to extremists.

The FBI met with Tamerlan but determined that he was not a terror threat. The U.S. sought to find out why the Russians were inquiring about Tamerlan, but received no additional information from the Russians, according to U.S. officials.

During his trip to Russia, Tamerlan spent most of his time in Dagestan, where his parents were living, and Chechnya.

After the bombings, U.S. diplomats and FBI agents from Moscow traveled to Makhachkala, capital of Dagestan, to interview Anzor and Zubeidat Tsarnaev, the suspects' parents. It was not clear from the Kommersant report whether Fogle was one of the diplomats.

The newspaper reported that the American side sought to take advantage of their meetings with Russian anti-terrorism forces "to establish personal contacts" in an effort to bypass bureaucratic delays that often crop up through normal channels.

The newspaper said Fogle allegedly called one senior Russian intelligence official -- the alleged recruitment target -- twice on a cellphone "persistently seeking a personal meeting." It was during a purported meeting that Fogle was detained.

The newspaper noted that the Russian Foreign Ministry, in announcing Fogle's expulsion, made reference to the cooperation between the two countries over terrorism.

"While our two presidents reaffirmed their readiness to expand bilateral cooperation, including through intelligence agencies in the fight against international terrorism, such provocative actions in the spirit of the Cold War did not contribute to the strengthening of mutual trust," the Foreign Ministry statement said.

U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul was summoned Wednesday to the Foreign Ministry, which said it handed him a formal protest over the incident. McFaul spent about a half-hour at the ministry and left without speaking to journalists.

The State Department confirmed that Fogle worked as an embassy employee but would give no details about his job. The CIA declined comment, the AP reported.

Contributing: Associated Press.