This sounds like a Cold War throwback or John Le Carré plot, but is chillingly real at the start of 2019 for a Metro Detroiter, as the Free Press reports:
Paul N. Whelan graduated from Huron High School in Ann Arbor and is a former Marine. (Photo: Facebook)A Novi man is under a criminal investigation for espionage and is being held by Russian authorities in Moscow, according to a statement issued Monday by the Russian Federal Security Service.
Paul N. Whelan, 48, was arrested Dec. 28 "in Moscow while on a spy mission," Russian authorities said.
Whelan is an ex-Marine who works as director of global security for auto supplier BorgWarner, the company confirmed. His job involves overseeing security for "facilities, assets and people" in Auburn Hills and around the world, said Kathy Graham, a company spokeswoman. Whelan has worked for the company since 2017.
His employer and alarmed family are scrambling to learn more. He was in Russia's capital for a freind's Christmas week wedding, but missed it, his twin brother David tweets Tuesday from Newmarket, Ontario, near Toronto. (See statement below.)
"David Whelan said they grew up in the Ann Arbor area and graduated in 1988 from Huron High School," Kristen Jordan Shamus and JC Reindl write in the Freep.
Paul Whelan served a couple of tours in Iraq with the Marines, never married and never had children.
U.S. Embassy representatives hope to see him soon. "We have requested this access and expect Russian authorities to provide it," a State Department statement says.
BorgWarner, a global manufacturer of vehicle propulsion systems, is headquartered on Hamlin Road in Auburn Hills. Its roots stretch back to 1928.
Here's the family statement on Twitter:
