THE REGRETS OF A DEFECTOR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000100420041-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 21, 2011
• Sequence Number: 41
• Publication Date: July 19, 1981
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

ST Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/21: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100420041-3
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ARTICLE A.?P
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N the cold. Now, more xthaa-e'ayear after he
defected to the United States; he thinks it
may have been a mistake
2' _
i osdr n ton. D. '
BOSTON GLOBE MAGAZINE
19 JULY 1981
By William . Beech
that part of the problem may be "unit E E
y ast ; uro pean.
has re
used any-co ment?
In fairness to the CIA,' it should be pointed out -
CIA man whom the two, identified as, in
being" .
charge of the "resettlement" of defectors declined-to
discuss Horodinca's assertions and -referred all ques-
tions to- the CIA's public- information office, which
f
It is difficult to check out Horodinca's com-
plaints. Although another Romanian defector, Ni-
cola Traian; insists they reflect quite similar exper-
iences on his part, the Central Intelligence Agency
has maintained a stony silence on -the charges.: The
t about the US intelligence community will scare, off
other would-be defectors."'}
That hewould even considasucn a nieak_opuon
suggests that deep-seated problems` ring exist in the
way spies who pass: through the- looking glass are
treated in this country.-,; - ;;
More important, Horodinca's unhappiness raises
I troubling questions about=-:- whether his complaints
year prison terns' for treason: 4,-'..; ? ~ .
Romania even.though' he ces a:?possible twee
Horodinca says he is thinking of going back home toY
Bence community,.abandone`cl b his wife and child;
isiscouragea, aisuiusionea, ana numinatea ' oy
his treatment at the hands~;of-the-American intellr-
kbear of a man in his mid-30s, with a laugh-',
ing.round face and an ingratiating manner,
Horodinca worked as, third secretary in the
Romanian Embassy. One of his responsibilities was
to -deal`-with--American newsmen, answering ques-
tions about the actions-.or attitudes of his govern-
ment and attempting to pick up low-grade political
- intelligence on the attitudes of the US government.
But larger responsibility, by his own account,
was to ake- friends among kev szonQressional aides
on Capitol Hill. Romania is one of the few Eastern
bloc nations to get Most Favored Nation tariff treat-
ment, renewable on an annual basis, and maintain-
ing good relations on the Hill is~of overriding impor-_
tanc a j- I
Horodmca-insists he never violated American
law, he never sought to buy secret documents or
compron4se,anyone in that role.
He - is a bit shy about discussing all` his reasons
for defecting. But both he and Traian, a fellow intel-
ligence officer, say a major reason was a shakeup in
the security hierarchy back home that made life in
the field:intolerable.'Both say they were not recruit-
ed as defectors by American intelligence; they came
over on their own.. -
In Horodinca's case, he was driving with his wife
and young -son on the night of February 23, 1980,
when he suddenly pulled his car into Fort Belvoir,
Virginia, and befuddled army officers with his re-
quest for political asylum.
-;,Several FBI and CIA men were called in, he says,
,and talked to' him- through the night, from 11- p.m. '
to 9 a.m: After they apparently decided that he was
a bona fide defector, he=and his family were taken to
intelligence officers lead privileged lives in their soci
a posh hotel in downtown Washington.-.
~-.
eties and doubtless have inflated expectations of how, "They held me in custody for three days in di
s totally different culture =. rt
into
This is Horodinca s story. ~' -
But even assuming some exaggeration on Horo-
dinca
deal
dealing with human beings who are experiencing
trauma
over their treason and attempted assimilation
Uncle Sam. p{-
;- ;_ ._* :: ~?"~
they
will be treated if they come over to rich old fereat? hole
ls, he recalls. "They, _ said, `You did a
?
good decision 'to defect: You'll have a marvelous life
here. Especially your son. We will take care of
r ~. - ? -.~:. - ~ _ :.:; ~: .
you.' +?
They were then moved to a so-called safe house
the suburbs of northern Virginia, a residence rent-
ed by a law firm as a cover for the
Y CIA; the actual
I Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/21: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100420041-3
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/12/21: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100420041-3
A different group of people met there. They
asked for his passport and driver's license and said
he would be paid $50 a day during the entire period
of interrogation, or debriefing. Three other people
shared the house with the Horodincas. All three had
rented cars to do such chores as-ferry Horodinca to
his debriefing sessions in a rented office or take his
wife out to shop for food or clothes. All were armed.
Right away the Horodincas were upset, particu-
larly by one man whom Horodinca described as
"very, very dirty," a reference to his- personal hy-
giene. "My wife said, `This is like a horror movie. I
can't stay here. I don't like these people at all,' "
Horodinca says.
The next day, while he was undergoing his first
formal debriefing, his wife slipped out of the-house
and took a cab to the Romanian Embassy. She took
young Nicolae; -nearly 3 years of age; with her. > `:
Horodinca says he didn't know his wife planned .
to return to the embassy with their son....L?
Immediately, his handlers decided to move -him,
first to a motel in northern Virginia, then to another
safe house, this time an a i
1artment.
'Several days . later,`however; his wife fell ill and
went to a hospital with her son in tow. The FBI'
showed up at the hospital almost at