Rosario Ames, Wife Of Spy, Given 5-Year Sentence

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Rosario Ames, wife of convicted spy Aldrich Ames, was sentenced to 63 months in prison today, after begging a federal judge for mercy.

U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton sentenced the 41-year-old Colombian-born woman to the lowest term available under a plea bargain she struck with prosecutors. She pleaded guilty last April 28 to conspiring to commit espionage and evade taxes.

Ames read a statement to the judge in which she again admitted that she "provided advice and support" for her husband's espionage but sought leniency so she could take care of their 5-year-old son Paul, now living with relatives in Bogota.

Ames - imprisoned for life without parole - was paid more than $2.5 million. He compromised dozens of CIA operations and numerous CIA operatives. The government says at least 10 were executed.