Does Markus Wolf, “the man without a face,” know secrets about the powers-that-be in Germany? Secrets that make him untouchable?

In 1993, Wolf was convicted of being the mastermind behind the infamous East German spy network for 33 years. But he walked away a free man — Germany’s highest court overturned the treason conviction.

Now he’s been convicted again, this time on four kidnapping charges, causing bodily harm, and coercion. But once again, Wolf is walking away a free man — his sentence was suspended.

Wolf’s defense is that he was acting according to the law of his country, East Germany, at the time of the crimes. Yet the same could be said of concentration camp executioners in the Nazi regime and torturers acting under orders from Stalin.

One thing’s for sure — after running a network of terror for over three decades, Markus Wolf will never spend a day behind bars.

(Source: Arizona Daily Star/Associated Press .)