The retired U.S. Marine at the center of an espionage investigation at the FBI and White House traveled to the Philippines numerous times during the period in which he allegedly passed sensitive U.S. documents to opposition leaders here, according to official records.
Leandro Aragoncillo, a naturalized U.S. citizen charged with stealing more than 100 documents from the FBI, visited his home country on 15 occasions from 2000 to 2005, usually staying about two weeks or less, Philippine Bureau of Immigration records show.
In addition, Philippine and U.S. authorities say a former national police official also charged in the case, Michael Ray Aquino, had a valid Philippine passport and U.S. tourist visa when he entered the United States in July 2001, despite being charged by Philippine authorities in connection with cases involving allegations of murder, kidnapping and drug trafficking.
U.S. immigration and law-enforcement officials said Friday that the Philippines never issued an extradition request or placed Aquino on a watch list, which could have prevented his entry into the country. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency eventually opened a criminal investigation of Aquino after he applied for legal residency in the United States last year, officials said.
U.S. authorities declined Friday to say why they were unaware of Aragoncillo and Aquino’s alleged spying until Aragoncillo drew their attention by attempting to intervene after Aquino was arrested for overstaying his visa. The subsequent investigation has raised the possibility that Aragoncillo pilfered classified documents while working as a security official in the office of Vice President Dick Cheney and has shaken the political establishment in the Philippines.
Aragoncillo and Aquino are charged in connection with the theft of more than 100 documents, including several dozen marked top secret, during Aragoncillo’s stint as an FBI intelligence analyst at Ft. Monmouth, N.J., earlier this year.
In Washington on Friday, FBI counterespionage agents continued to examine computer files, hard drives and other items and interview staffers at Cheney’s office in an attempt to assess the damage, sources said. Aragoncillo is cooperating with authorities and, according to an ABC News report, has admitted to taking files while working under Cheney from 2001 to early 2002.
