Report: Former top Russian spy Sergei Tretyakov dies 10 years after defecting to US
By APFriday, July 9, 2010
US report: Former top Russian spy Tretyakov dies
WASHINGTON — A radio station is reporting a former top Russian spy who defected to the United States in 2000 has died.
Washington’s WTOP-FM Radio reported Friday that Sergei Tretyakov died in June. His widow, Helen Tretyakov, tells WTOP he died of natural causes.
Pete Earley, who wrote a book about Tretyakov, also announced the death on his blog. He says Tretyakov’s widow asked friends not to reveal his death until an autopsy was completed. The widow could not immediately be reached.
A Social Security death record showed a Sergei Tretyakov died June 13 at age 53. The record did not provide a location.
Tretyakov was Russia’s deputy head of intelligence at the United Nations in New York from 1995 to 2000, when he defected to the U.S. with his wife and daughter.
News of the death comes after an unusual spy swap between Russia and the United States.
Information from: WTOP-FM, www.wtopnews.com
