By Saniya Ghanoui -- July 1, 2010
The Cambridge couple accused of being Russian spies will be back in court in two weeks for their bail hearing.
For the first time since the FBI accused them of being a part of an 11-person spy ring, Donald Heathfield and Tracey Lee Ann Foley appeared in Boston federal court Thursday.
Heathfield ran a business, which was subsidized by Moscow and used as a cover to spy, alleges the FBI.
Heathfield and Foley entered the courtroom in handcuffs and leg shackles. When seated, Foley waved to her sons, Timothy, 21, and Alex, 16, who waved back.
Krupp said the prosecution's evidence is not substantial and he requested that his client be able to meet with his wife to discuss the custody issue of their children.
"My client and his wife right now are worried about their kids," said Krupp. "I read the complaint affidavit in terms of facts alleged against my client and his wife. It's extraordinarily thin. It essentially suggests that they successfully infiltrated neighborhoods, cocktail parties and the PTA."
Federal prosecutors say Heathfield is using the name of a dead Canadian infant, however his lawyer, Peter Krupp, insist he be called "Donald Heathfield" in court.
His wife's attorney, Robert Sheketoff, said Foley will be identified as "Defendant Number 5," the name federal prosecutors are using in legal records.
In New York, federal prosecutors say Juan Lazaro, another of the suspected spies, confessed to working for the Russian Intelligence Service.
In documents presented in federal court, Lazaro admitted that "Juan Lazaro" was not his real name. The documents also include information that Lazaro said his home in Yonkers had been paid for by Russian intelligence, he was not born in Uruguay as he had claimed and that his wife would pass letters to the intelligence service for him.
In addition he said "he would no violate his loyalty to the 'Service' even for his son," according to a court memo.
Meantime, police in Cyprus are searching for an 11th suspect who was arrested but released on bail. The suspect, Christopher Metsos, was supposed to appear in court Wednesday but did not show.
Two other suspects, Richard and Cynthia Murphy, had been living in New Jersey and were considered the ringleaders for the spies. They supposedly communicated with Metsos regularly who, in turn, communicated with people in Moscow.
(Photo courtesy: AP Images)
