that spying "was his job." He said that he was a Soviet agent and Thompson was his cover name. In 2010, Nigel West said that Thompson's claims to be a Soviet intelligence officer were false and that evidently Thompson believed that he would not be exchanged in a spy-swap if he acknowledged being a US citizen. German website 'Konfront' claims that he was in fact Gregor Alexander Best and that he died in the Berlin district of Friedrichshain on 19 March 2019 aged 93. References 1935 births Living people American people convicted of spying for the Soviet Union United States Air Force airmen American prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government