Seton Hall alumnus exchanged in spy swap after pleading guilty to espionage

A Seton Hall alumnus was flown to Vienna today as part of a spy swap between the U.S. and Russia, after he - and 10 other Russians - pleaded guilty to acting as unregistered agents for Russia.

When the story first broke, it sounded like a bad joke. The week of June 27 was a-buzz with news about the 11 Russians that had been arrested on charges of espionage. So when a friend told me that a fellow Seton Hall graduate was involved, I was in disbelief.

“One of the people arrested for spying is a Whitehead grad from 08!” he said in a Facebook message on June 29, “His name is Mikhail Semenko. pretty crazy huh?

A simple Google search and a thick FBI report confirmed that the blue eyed Russian- known on campus as “Misha”- was a suspect in one of the largest espionage crackdowns in U.S. history.

As I pursued the story, I uncovered details which seemed to come straight out of a Hollywood script.

Semenko came to the U.S. in 2005 on a student visa to pursue a dual masters degree in diplomacy and international relations/ Asian studies at Seton Hall’s Whitehead School of Diplomacy. Whitehead students that I interviewed, described him as a “normal” guy who was involved in school clubs, regularly attended lectures, and enjoyed socializing at parties.

“He really just seemed like every other student,” said Molly Holzbauer from the class of ’08.

But authorities said the 28-year old was a budding Russian spy.

During an alleged conversation with an undercover FBI agent, Semenko revealed that he had spent weeks with the Russian foreign intelligence service, learning how to secretly share messages on wireless computer networks. That conversation led to a meeting during which the undercover passed him $5,000 and a map which showed where to hide it for a fellow spy. Hours later, Semenko was arrested.

Seton Hall alumni, many who had learned of the arrest through an alumni Facebook group, were shocked by the news.

After all, Semenko, who grew up on the Russia-China border always seemed more interested in China than in U.S. foreign policy. He was actively involved in the Chinese Student Association at Seton Hall and fellow members recall being impressed by his fluent Mandarin. He taught English while traveling in China and also kept a blog on the Chinese economy which won him kudos from Steve Clemens, an analyst for a prestigious D.C. based think-tank.

But he didn’t try hard to downplay his Russian identity either. His latest job was at a Russian travel agency and at school, Semenko was involved in the Slavic club. He even helped teach some of the elementary Russian language classes when a professor left on maternity leave, students recalled. A Russian-language professor who described Semenko as “sweet” and “innocent” hung up on me when I asked for an interview.

“We had joked around that he was a Russian spy, but never took it seriously,” said one friend who shared classes with Semenko.