New movie shows FBI rookie's role in catching spy

WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) Eric O'Neill was a young, FBI surveillance operative when recruited for a new assignment: help catch perhaps the most damaging spy in US history.

O'Neill was assigned to FBI headquarters in January 2001 in an undercover role to assist veteran FBI special agent Robert Hanssen, a suspected mole who had been compromised by the Russians.

An FBI team of hundreds investigating Hanssen hoped the 26-year-old O'Neill, who was not even an agent, would gain Hanssen's trust and help catch him in the act of passing US secrets.

Hanssen's arrest six years ago, his subsequent guilty plea to more than 20 years of spying and his sentence of life in prison are well known, but details of O'Neill's role were scarce until the recent release of the movie ''Breach,'' based on his story.

In the Universal Pictures' film, actor Ryan Phillippe stars as O'Neill, while Academy Award winner Chris Cooper plays Hanssen.

In an interview, O'Neill talked about the notorious case now made famous by Hollywood, saying he was amazed the FBI would bring in someone so young for such a mission.

''These cases come up once every several decades,'' O'Neill said.

FBI officials said O'Neill's background in computers helped get him the assignment. Hanssen was reassigned on January 13, 2001, to a newly created job at headquarters to help revamp the FBI's computer system.

But the assignment created so the FBI team could monitor Hanssen's daily activities without tipping him to their investigation.

''We hoped he (O'Neill) could pull it off without arousing suspicion,'' said one FBI agent. ''They took a chance on him.'' At one point, O'Neill almost got caught in one of the movie's most dramatic scenes.

'THAT WAS THE WORST' Hanssen left his office as arranged to go to the FBI's firing range. Hollywood enhanced the story line to have him also lose patience at a picture-taking session for a portrait to commemorate 25 years with the bureau.

While the veteran agent was gone, O'Neill took Hanssen's Palm Pilot and copied information but nearly got caught because he almost put it back in the wrong pocket of Hanssen's briefcase.

''I sat there thinking I've just ruined this entire operation,'' O'Neill said. ''That was the worst.'' It turned out O'Neill had put the hand-held device back in the correct pocket. Hanssen asked him if he had been in his briefcase.

''I just lied the best I could and convinced him,'' O'Neill said.

Court documents said the device contained a specific upcoming date, time and reference to the site in nearby Virginia where Hanssen and the Russians exchanged information. The details led to Hanssen's arrest.

In another scene, O'Neill had to keep Hanssen away from headquarters so FBI agents could search his car.

The quick-thinking O'Neill first got them stuck in a traffic jam and then convinced Hanssen to get back into the car instead of walking back to headquarters.

The evidence obtained from that search included secret documents about ongoing FBI counterintelligence investigations, among other things, according to the court records. The government contended Hanssen's disclosures were among the most damaging ever to U.S.

interests.

O'Neill could not even tell his wife, Juliana, about the real purpose of his mission, which created tension in their new marriage.

''It was very difficult to lie to her, but I was required to.

That just goes with the job,'' O'Neill said.

After Hanssen's arrest on February 18, 2001, O'Neill went back to his old job and decided to leave the FBI in May 2001. In the movie, he packed up his desk on the day Hanssen was arrested.

''The hardest decision I made was to leave the FBI,'' O'Neill said. ''I just decided that this wasn't the sort of life I wanted to live.'' A graduate of George Washington University law school, he now works for a law firm in Washington, specializing in national defense.

The movie provided no definitive reason why Hanssen sold out his country for 1.4 million dollars in cash and diamonds.

It does have Hanssen speculating after his arrest that another American spy might have acted because of ego or an urge to expose lax US security.

REUTERS SY KN0841