Leandro Aragoncillo
Encyclopedia
Leandro Aragoncillo is a former, FBI intelligence analyst, and a retired, United States Marine Corps
, gunnery-sergeant who was convicted of spying against the United States Government in 2007. A naturalized Filipino-American, he was charged with espionage and with leaking classified information to the regime of a former Filipino president.
The FBI labeled Aragoncillo the first known case of espionage within the history of the White House
. For over thirty-one months, from 1999 to 2001, Aragoncillo was assigned under Vice President
Al Gore
and then later under Vice President Dick Cheney
.
Hired to work for the FBI at the Army's Ft. Monmouth base in New Jersey
in July 2004, Aragoncillo began sending classified documents in January 2005, according to a federal complaint.
On October 5, 2005, Aragoncillo was indicted and arrested in New Jersey for espionage
. Federal agents accused him of stealing classified information
, including details about the current President
of the Philippines
, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
and then passing that information onto opposition leaders in the Philippiness.
According to reports compiled by Filipino intelligence professionals
, there were indications of a link between Aragoncillo and the French intelligence service, Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure
. Frequent visits by Aragoncillo to Manila allegedly were interspersed with clandestine meetings between identified, French operatives and several "illegals" (i.e. unregistered agents) around 2002 to 2004.
Statutes used against Aragoncillo:
Michael Ray Aquino
, a former deputy director of the Philippines National Police who lived in New York City
, was arrested also and was charged . He was accused of receiving documents. He pled guilty to unlawful possession of secret, U.S. government documents. He faced a jail sentence of between 70 and 87 months plus a fine of $250,000. On July 17, 2007, he was sentenced to six years and four months.
Leandro Aragoncillo, on the other hand, was sentenced on July 18, 2007, in New Jersey by U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to ten years in prison. Under a proposed plea agreement, Aragoncillo had faced up to twenty years in prison.
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, gunnery-sergeant who was convicted of spying against the United States Government in 2007. A naturalized Filipino-American, he was charged with espionage and with leaking classified information to the regime of a former Filipino president.
The FBI labeled Aragoncillo the first known case of espionage within the history of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. For over thirty-one months, from 1999 to 2001, Aragoncillo was assigned under Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
and then later under Vice President Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
.
Hired to work for the FBI at the Army's Ft. Monmouth base in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in July 2004, Aragoncillo began sending classified documents in January 2005, according to a federal complaint.
On October 5, 2005, Aragoncillo was indicted and arrested in New Jersey for espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
. Federal agents accused him of stealing classified information
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...
, including details about the current President
President of the Philippines
The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...
of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
and then passing that information onto opposition leaders in the Philippiness.
According to reports compiled by Filipino intelligence professionals
National Intelligence Coordinating Agency
The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency is the primary intelligence gathering and analysis arm of the Philippine government, in charge of carrying out overt, covert, and clandestine intelligence programs...
, there were indications of a link between Aragoncillo and the French intelligence service, Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure
Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure
The General Directorate for External Security is France's external intelligence agency. Operating under the direction of the French ministry of defence, the agency works alongside the DCRI in providing intelligence and national security, notably by performing paramilitary and counterintelligence...
. Frequent visits by Aragoncillo to Manila allegedly were interspersed with clandestine meetings between identified, French operatives and several "illegals" (i.e. unregistered agents) around 2002 to 2004.
Statutes used against Aragoncillo:
- Count 1: & c - Espionage Act of 1917Espionage Act of 1917The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law passed on June 15, 1917, shortly after the U.S. entry into World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code but is now found under Title 18, Crime...
- Count 2: - Espionage Act of 1917Espionage Act of 1917The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law passed on June 15, 1917, shortly after the U.S. entry into World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code but is now found under Title 18, Crime...
/ McCarran Internal Security ActMcCarran Internal Security ActThe Internal Security Act of 1950, , also known as the Subversive Activities Control Act or the McCarran Act, after Senator Pat McCarran , is a United States federal law of the McCarthy era. It was passed over President Harry Truman's veto...
1950 - Count 3: & 2 - Comprehensive Crime Control Act 1984 / Computer Fraud and Abuse ActComputer Fraud and Abuse ActThe Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is a law passed by the United States Congress in 1986, intended to reduce cracking of computer systems and to address federal computer-related offenses...
1986 / The National Information Infrastructure Protection ActNational Information Infrastructure Protection ActThe National Information Infrastructure Protection Act was Title II of the Economic Espionage Act of 1996, as an amendment to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.-The Act:...
1996 / USA Patriot ActUSA PATRIOT ActThe USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
2001 / etc.
Michael Ray Aquino
Michael Ray Aquino
Michael Ray Aquino is a former intelligence officer in the police force of the Philippines. He was accused of involvement in a 2000 political murder, and more recently was convicted of helping to transmit classified information from the United States to opposition leaders in the...
, a former deputy director of the Philippines National Police who lived in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, was arrested also and was charged . He was accused of receiving documents. He pled guilty to unlawful possession of secret, U.S. government documents. He faced a jail sentence of between 70 and 87 months plus a fine of $250,000. On July 17, 2007, he was sentenced to six years and four months.
Leandro Aragoncillo, on the other hand, was sentenced on July 18, 2007, in New Jersey by U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to ten years in prison. Under a proposed plea agreement, Aragoncillo had faced up to twenty years in prison.
See also
- Executive Order 13292Executive Order 13292Executive Order 13292 was an executive order issued by United States President George W. Bush on March 25, 2003, entitled "Further Amendment to Executive Order 12958, as Amended, Classified National Security Information." The Executive Order modified the manner in which sensitive information was...
- Executive Order 12958Executive Order 12958Executive Order 12958 created new standards for the process of identifying and protecting classified information, and led to an unprecedented effort to declassify millions of pages from the U.S. diplomatic and national security history. In 1995, United States President William J. Clinton signed...
- Espionage Act of 1917Espionage Act of 1917The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law passed on June 15, 1917, shortly after the U.S. entry into World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code but is now found under Title 18, Crime...