Washington's Russian Embassy 'Spy House' gets new owner, but its history likely to remain a mystery

The Washington, D.C., home directly across from the sprawling, steel-gated Russian embassy in the nation's capital has finally been sold and is undergoing major renovation after sitting vacant for roughly 12 years – but whether its legendary status as the FBI's Russian "Spy House" will finally fade remains a mystery.

Major renovations to the home at 2619 Wisconsin Ave NW, just up the hill from Georgewtown, began several weeks ago, after permits were taped on the front door, over which a tattered Ukrainian flag hangs. 

The new owner, Wisconsin Overlook, could not be reached this week by Just the News. But The Washington Business Journal reported months ago that, after reviewing public records, Overlook obtained a $2.3 million loan last year from a Merchants Mortgage in Greenwood Village, Colorado. 

The company's website says it focuses on "non-owner-occupied fix-and-flip properties." The trust documents for the loans were signed by a person named Joey Yaffe, from suburban Maryland, The Journal also reports. 

At least one of the D.C. building permits lists Overlook and Yaffe, whom The Journal reports owns a D.C. real estate firm and plans to redevelop the home and build two new ones on the adjacent lot.

At least one of the sellers in the $3.6 million transaction has been identified in news reports as Michael Massino.

The well-known mystery, or legend, surrounding the home is that the FBI occupied it from 1990 to 2013 and installed cameras and listening devices to spy on the embassy. 

The FBI has never commented on the matter. But neighbors say a team of agents would arrive each day at 8 a.m., another team would replace them at 4 p.m. and a late-shift crew relieved them at midnight, according to Washingtonian magazine.

Another, more far-flung and unconfirmed story is that the FBI – in an effort code-named "Operation Monopoly" – tried unsuccessfully to dig a tunnel under Wisconsin Avenue and the embassy.