Every man has his price. For disgruntled US soldier Robert Stephan Lipka, all it took to betray his country was an offer of four hundred dollars. Few Americans know of Lipka, but in September of 1965 he began the wholesale theft of top secret information from the National Security Agency, selling classified documents to the KGB for small sums of money, and causing untold damage to national security and endangering US operations across the globe. Two years later, he quit the espionage business as his military enlistment period expired. He then disappeared into obscurity before the FBI could gather evidence needed for arrest. His case would remain open for over thirty years.

Decades after Lipka’s betrayal, a KGB officer sought asylum in the West, fearing reprisal in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse. In return for protection he offered important documents stolen from KGB archives. Hidden within these documents was vital proof of Lipka’s guilt. One traitor’s actions led to another’s conviction

Author John Whiteside is the dedicated FBI agent who led the Lipka case.