Christopher John Boyce
Encyclopedia
Christopher John Boyce is a convicted KGB (Committee for State Security Spy) who sold U.S. spy satellite
secrets to the Soviet Union in the 1970s.
, along with childhood friend, Andrew Daulton Lee
, were raised in the affluent seaside community of Palos Verdes Peninsula near Los Angeles
. In 1974 Boyce was hired at TRW
, a Southern California
aerospace firm in Redondo Beach, California
. His father in his position as an aerospace security officer was able to help his son get a job at TRW. Boyce eventually was promoted to a sensitive job in TRW's "Black Vault" (classified communications center) with a top secret security clearance
.
Boyce claims that he began getting misrouted cables from the Central Intelligence Agency
discussing the CIA's desire to depose the government of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam
in Australia
. Boyce claimed the CIA wanted Whitlam removed from office because he wanted to close U.S. military bases in Australia, including the vital Pine Gap
secure communications facility, and withdraw Australian troops from Vietnam
. Whitlam had also begun making diplomatic overtures to China
, as President Richard Nixon
had previously done. For these reasons some claim that U.S. government pressure was a major factor in the dismissal of Whitlam as prime minister
by the governor general, Sir John Kerr, who according to Boyce was referred to as our man Kerr by CIA officers. Through the cable traffic Boyce saw that the CIA was involving itself in such a manner, not just with Australia but with other democratic, industrialized allies. Boyce considered going to the press, but believed the media's earlier disclosure of CIA involvement in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, which had resulted in the overthrow and killing of Chilean president Salvador Allende
, had not changed anything for the better.
Instead he gathered a quantity of classified
documents concerning secure U.S. communications cipher
s and spy satellite
development and had his friend Andrew Daulton Lee
, a cocaine
and heroin dealer since his high school days (hence his nickname, "The Snowman") deliver them to Soviet embassy officials in Mexico City
, returning with large sums of cash for Boyce (nicknamed "The Falcon" because of his long time interest in falconry
) and himself.
Boyce, then 23, was exposed after Lee was arrested by Mexican
police in front of the Soviet embassy on January 6, 1977, on suspicion of having killed a police officer. During his interrogation Lee, who had top secret
microfilm in his possession when arrested, confessed to being a Soviet spy and implicated Boyce. Boyce was arrested on January 16, 1977, when the FBI found him at the shack he was renting near Riverside, CA. He was convicted May 14, 1977, of espionage and sentenced to 40 years in prison, initially at Terminal Island and then the Metropolitan Correctional Center in San Diego. On July 10, 1979, he was transferred to the federal penitentiary
in Lompoc, California
.
and Washington State. Adopting the alias of "Anthony Edward Lester," Boyce did not believe he could live as a fugitive forever, and began to study aviation in an attempt to flee to the Soviet Union, where he believed he would accept a commission as an officer in the Soviet Armed Forces
. On August 21, 1981, Boyce was arrested while eating in his car outside "The Pit Stop," a drive-in restaurant in Port Angeles, Washington
. Authorities had received a tip about Boyce's whereabouts from his former bank robbery confederates.
, to be awarded parole in 1998. Following Lee's release from prison, she turned her attention to freeing Boyce, and the two fell in love through their correspondence. Boyce was released from parole after serving 5 years in July 2008. There are no restitution requirements on Boyce's parole.
Boyce later justified his actions by claiming that he was selling this information in the hopes of fostering peace between the Soviet Union and the United States.
's best-selling 1979 book The Falcon and the Snowman
. The book was turned into a film of the same title in 1985 by director John Schlesinger
starring actors, Timothy Hutton
as Boyce, and Sean Penn
as Lee.
American performance artist Johanna Went
's 1982 album Hyena features a song called "Christopher Boyce".
Spy satellite
A spy satellite is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications....
secrets to the Soviet Union in the 1970s.
Espionage
Boyce, the son of a security chief at McDonnell DouglasMcDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...
, along with childhood friend, Andrew Daulton Lee
Andrew Daulton Lee
Andrew Daulton Lee is an American who was convicted of espionage for his involvement in the spying activities of his childhood friend, Christopher Boyce.Lee was the adopted eldest son of Dr. Daulton Lee, a wealthy California physician...
, were raised in the affluent seaside community of Palos Verdes Peninsula near Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. In 1974 Boyce was hired at TRW
TRW
TRW Inc. was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, automotive, and credit reporting. It was a pioneer in multiple fields including electronic components, integrated circuits, computers, software and systems engineering. TRW built many spacecraft,...
, a Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
aerospace firm in Redondo Beach, California
Redondo Beach, California
Redondo Beach is one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 66,748 at the 2010 census, up from 63,261 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area.Redondo Beach was originally part of...
. His father in his position as an aerospace security officer was able to help his son get a job at TRW. Boyce eventually was promoted to a sensitive job in TRW's "Black Vault" (classified communications center) with a top secret security clearance
Security clearance
A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information, i.e., state secrets, or to restricted areas after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is also sometimes used in private organizations that have a formal...
.
Boyce claims that he began getting misrouted cables from the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
discussing the CIA's desire to depose the government of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Boyce claimed the CIA wanted Whitlam removed from office because he wanted to close U.S. military bases in Australia, including the vital Pine Gap
Pine Gap
Pine Gap is the commonly used name for a satellite tracking station at, some south-west of the town of Alice Springs in the centre of Australia which is operated by both Australia and the United States. The facility has become a key part of the local economy.It consists of a large computer complex...
secure communications facility, and withdraw Australian troops from Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. Whitlam had also begun making diplomatic overtures to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, as President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
had previously done. For these reasons some claim that U.S. government pressure was a major factor in the dismissal of Whitlam as prime minister
Australian constitutional crisis of 1975
The 1975 Australian constitutional crisis has been described as the greatest political crisis and constitutional crisis in Australia's history. It culminated on 11 November 1975 with the removal of the Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party , by Governor-General Sir John Kerr...
by the governor general, Sir John Kerr, who according to Boyce was referred to as our man Kerr by CIA officers. Through the cable traffic Boyce saw that the CIA was involving itself in such a manner, not just with Australia but with other democratic, industrialized allies. Boyce considered going to the press, but believed the media's earlier disclosure of CIA involvement in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, which had resulted in the overthrow and killing of Chilean president Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
, had not changed anything for the better.
Instead he gathered a quantity of classified
Classified information
Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation...
documents concerning secure U.S. communications cipher
Cipher
In cryptography, a cipher is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption — a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is encipherment. In non-technical usage, a “cipher” is the same thing as a “code”; however, the concepts...
s and spy satellite
Spy satellite
A spy satellite is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications....
development and had his friend Andrew Daulton Lee
Andrew Daulton Lee
Andrew Daulton Lee is an American who was convicted of espionage for his involvement in the spying activities of his childhood friend, Christopher Boyce.Lee was the adopted eldest son of Dr. Daulton Lee, a wealthy California physician...
, a cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and heroin dealer since his high school days (hence his nickname, "The Snowman") deliver them to Soviet embassy officials in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, returning with large sums of cash for Boyce (nicknamed "The Falcon" because of his long time interest in falconry
Falconry
Falconry is "the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor". There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle...
) and himself.
Boyce, then 23, was exposed after Lee was arrested by Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
police in front of the Soviet embassy on January 6, 1977, on suspicion of having killed a police officer. During his interrogation Lee, who had top secret
Security clearance
A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information, i.e., state secrets, or to restricted areas after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is also sometimes used in private organizations that have a formal...
microfilm in his possession when arrested, confessed to being a Soviet spy and implicated Boyce. Boyce was arrested on January 16, 1977, when the FBI found him at the shack he was renting near Riverside, CA. He was convicted May 14, 1977, of espionage and sentenced to 40 years in prison, initially at Terminal Island and then the Metropolitan Correctional Center in San Diego. On July 10, 1979, he was transferred to the federal penitentiary
Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc
The Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex is a complex with four United States federal prisons located near Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, California...
in Lompoc, California
Lompoc, California
Lompoc is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. The city was incorporated in 1888. The population was 42,434 at the 2010 census, up from 41,103 at the 2000 census....
.
Escape
On January 21, 1980, Boyce escaped from Lompoc. While a fugitive, Boyce carried out 17 bank robberies in IdahoIdaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
and Washington State. Adopting the alias of "Anthony Edward Lester," Boyce did not believe he could live as a fugitive forever, and began to study aviation in an attempt to flee to the Soviet Union, where he believed he would accept a commission as an officer in the Soviet Armed Forces
Soviet Armed Forces
The Soviet Armed Forces, also called the Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Armed Forces of the Soviet Union refers to the armed forces of the Russian SFSR , and Soviet Union from their beginnings in the...
. On August 21, 1981, Boyce was arrested while eating in his car outside "The Pit Stop," a drive-in restaurant in Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles is a city in and the county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 19,038 at the 2010 census. The area's harbor was dubbed Puerto de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles by Spanish explorer Francisco de Eliza in 1791, but by the mid-19th century the name had...
. Authorities had received a tip about Boyce's whereabouts from his former bank robbery confederates.
Release
Boyce was released from prison on parole on September 16, 2002. In October 2002, shortly after Boyce was freed, he married Kathleen Mills. She had lobbied successfully for Boyce's espionage accomplice, Andrew Daulton LeeAndrew Daulton Lee
Andrew Daulton Lee is an American who was convicted of espionage for his involvement in the spying activities of his childhood friend, Christopher Boyce.Lee was the adopted eldest son of Dr. Daulton Lee, a wealthy California physician...
, to be awarded parole in 1998. Following Lee's release from prison, she turned her attention to freeing Boyce, and the two fell in love through their correspondence. Boyce was released from parole after serving 5 years in July 2008. There are no restitution requirements on Boyce's parole.
Boyce later justified his actions by claiming that he was selling this information in the hopes of fostering peace between the Soviet Union and the United States.
Cultural references
The story of their case was told in Robert LindseyRobert Lindsey (journalist)
Robert Lindsey is a journalist and author of several true crime books, including The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage , the story of Christopher John Boyce and Andrew Daulton Lee, who were both convicted of selling information to the Soviets...
's best-selling 1979 book The Falcon and the Snowman
The Falcon and the Snowman
The Falcon and the Snowman is a 1985 film directed by John Schlesinger about two young American men, Christopher Boyce and Daulton Lee , who sold U.S. security secrets to the Soviet Union...
. The book was turned into a film of the same title in 1985 by director John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger
John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
starring actors, Timothy Hutton
Timothy Hutton
Timothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
as Boyce, and Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
as Lee.
American performance artist Johanna Went
Johanna Went
Johanna Went is an American performance artist who primarily works in the Los Angeles area.She started her career in the late 1970s as musician in the punk scene. Music is still an important element of her shows. She has often worked with musician Mark Wheaton, whose fast, rhythmic music beats...
's 1982 album Hyena features a song called "Christopher Boyce".
Further reading
- 60 Minutes, May 23, 1982, A Spy's Story: USA Traitor Gaoled For 40 Years After Selling Codes of Rylite and Argus Projects: www.serendipity.li/cia/cia_oz/60min.htm (link blocked by wikipedia's spam filter?)
- Statement by Peter StaplesPeter StaplesPeter Staples is an Australian politician. He was first elected to Parliament in 1983 as the Member for Diamond Valley, then represented Jagajaga after Diamond Valley was abolished in 1984...
, MemberAustralian House of RepresentativesThe House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
for JagajagaDivision of JagajagaThe Division of Jagajaga is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It is located in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and lies north of the Yarra River...
in Australia, November 20, 1986 - Robert Lindsey, The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage, Lyons Press, 1979, ISBN 1-58574-502-2
- Robert Lindsey, The Flight of the Falcon: The True Story of the Escape and Manhunt for America's Most Wanted Spy, Simon & Schuster, 1983, ISBN 0-671-45159-6