Today is Wednesday, September 30, 2020.

On this day in 1986, Ganadi Zarkov, a Soviet spy, spent four minutes in a Brooklyn courtroom

before promptly being let go.

Zarkov's arrest had jeopardized a meeting between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.

His release ensured US-Soviet relations were back on track.

Welcome to Today in True Crime, a podcast original, I'm Vanessa Richardson, and today I'm joined

by our guest host, Alistair Merton, from Haunted Places Ghost Stories.

His show revels in spooky tales and recounts the world's most chilling legends.

Today, Alistair will cover some of the context surrounding Zarkov's release from US custody

while I'll cover the event itself.

Thanks for having me, Vanessa.

Hello, everyone.

I'm thrilled to dive into this fascinating story of Cold War espionage and intrigue.

Of course, thrilled to have you join me.

Now let's go back to the morning of September 30, 1986, to a courtroom in Brooklyn, New York.

Zarkov, a trim, middle-aged, mustachioed man, arrived on the sixth floor of the downtown

courthouse six minutes before 10am.

He looked jaunty and upbeat in a pinstripe suit and striped tie, but then he had every

reason to be pleased.

He'd already concluded the most important meeting of his day.

There, his lawyer and a judge, with somehow from the US federal government, had agreed

to a sweetheart deal.

...