Former Green Beret charged with spying for Russia
The federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia. (Getty Images)
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A former Army Green Beret who lives in Virginia faces charges of conspiring with Russian spies to deliver Department of Defense intel to the Kremlin.
Prosecutors say 45-year-old Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins of Gainesville first met with Russian intelligence officers in December 1996.
The conspiracy continued until January 2011, officials say.
Debbins is due to appear in U.S. District Court in Alexandria next week and faces life in prison.
“Our military is tasked with the awesome responsibility of protecting our nation from its adversaries, and its service members make incredible sacrifices in service of that duty,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “When service members collude to provide classified information to our foreign adversaries, they betray the oaths they swore to their country and their fellow service members. As this indictment reflects, we will be steadfast and dogged in holding such individuals accountable.”
Prosecutors say Debbins served the Army's chemical units before being chosen for the Special Forces.
Officials say Russians encouraged Debbins join the Green Berets. He reached the rank of Captain.
Prosecutors say Debbins routinely supplied Russians with information about his work in the Army's chemical and Special Forces units.
In 2008, when he retired from active duty, Debbins suggested colleagues who Russians could pursue as other cooperative sources.
“The facts alleged in this case are a shocking betrayal by a former Army officer of his fellow soldiers and his country,” said Alan E. Kohler, Jr., FBI Assistant Director of the Counterintelligence Division.