George Trofimoff - Trial and Conviction

Trial and Conviction

The trial of Colonel George Trofimoff began at the Sam E. Gibbons U.S. Courthouse in Tampa on June 4. 2001.

U.S. Attorney for Florida, Donna Bucella, "declined to estimate the damage wrought" by Trofimoff's suspected spying, stating that "several factors suggested a major security breach, including the sensitivity of the Nuremberg center, a NATO facility staffed by Germans, British, French and Americans;... Trofimoff's clearance to view virtually any documents, and his longevity in the job."

His court trial was unprecedented in that a witness for the prosecution was former KGB General Oleg Kalugin, who had been head of the foreign counterintelligence, or K branch, of the KGB First Chief Directorate. Upon being asked whether he knew the name of Agent "Markiz," Kalugin responded "Yes. I did. His name was George Trofimoff." General Kalugin further described his own meeting with Col. Trofimoff at a location in Austria.

Another witness for the prosecution was former U.S. Marine Clayton Lonetree, who testified about his own experiences with the KGB's recruiting techniques.

On 26 June 2001, a Federal jury in Tampa, Florida convicted Trofimoff of spying for the Soviet Union. The jury foreman, Mark King, later said that an innocent man would have informed the FBI upon being contacted by "Galkin." King also said of Trofimoff "He often seemed to be lying. His story did not jibe."

Despite his attorney's plea for leniency, Trofimoff was then sentenced to life imprisonment.

Even from Federal Prison, Trofimoff maintains his innocence. Trofimoff says he has always been a loyal U.S. Army officer and "a patriot that served this country for 46 years and a half or 47 years." He has also recanted his admissions of espionage to Agent Droujinsky, saying he only made himself out to be a spy in order to obtain money from the Russian Orthodox Church. Trofimoff further states that he believed Droujinsky would only help him only if he were in such a dire situation.