Former KGB undercover agent at LV museum

The story of a KGB spy and an Allentown FBI investigation that centered on Mount Bethel attracted national attention. Prominently featured nationwide on "60 Minutes," this story will be detailed at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum, 432 W. Walnut St., Allentown.

Former KGB Agent Jack Barsky will speak about and sign copies of his new book, "Deep Under Cover: My Secret Life & Tangled Allegiances as a KGB Spy in America."

"This is a high human drama spy story," said Joseph Garrera, executive director of the museum. "It offers an inside look at Russian espionage and the astounding journey of a KGB agent who avoided going to prison."

Barsky was born Albrecht Dittrich in Communist East Germany. He planned a career as a chemistry professor until the KGB offered him the lure of money, excitement and intrigue as a clandestine Cold War spy in America. After extensive training, Barsky was planted in the U.S., where he began a secret life reporting back to Moscow.

A decade later, Barsky's loyalties were tested when the KGB recalled him to Moscow. Refusing to leave the nation that had now become his home, he outwitted his KGB bosses. He relocated to Upper Mount Bethel Township and worked as an executive in New Jersey.

Then, a KGB agent defected to the West and blew Barsky's cover. An intensive investigation followed, much of it carried out by the FBI's Allentown field office. In May of 1997 the FBI and the New Jersey State Police apprehended Barsky on the Delaware River Toll Bridge.

Barsky's book will be available for purchase, and the author will sign copies.

Admission is free to museum and Lehigh County Historical Society members; nonmembers pay $8 for adults, $3 for nonmember children.

For more information, call 610-435-1074, visit www.lehighvalleyheritagemuseum.org or visit us on Facebook.