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A woman accused of being a Russian spy was ordered released and placed under home arrest on Thursday, but nine other suspects in an espionage case that has revived Cold War memories remained in federal custody, Reuters reported.
A New York judge ruled that Vicky Pelaez, a columnist for the New York Spanish-language daily El Diario, be freed on bond but held in her home and monitored electronically.
Authorities say Peruvian-born Pelaez and 10 other alleged spies spent a decade living quiet lives in U.S. cities and suburbs, all the while recruiting political sources and gathering information for the Russian government.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis denied bail to Richard and Cynthia Murphy of Montclair, New Jersey, saying evidence was "strong that the Murphys are agents of foreign government who have used false identification."
The 10 people -- plus one arrested in Cyprus -- adopted false identities and spent years trying to gather non-classified information, the Justice Department said.
In a case that reads like a spy novel, the group dubbed the "Illegals" received training in coded communications, covertly passing information and evading detection.
Also on Thursday, a detention hearing in New York for suspect Juan Lazaro was postponed, as was a hearing in Alexandria, Virginia for suspects Michael Zolotti, Patricia Mills and Mikhail Semenko that was to resume on Friday.
Prosecutors said the case was "extraordinarily strong" and cited new evidence, such as $80,000 (52,695 pounds) cash they say was found in a safety deposit box belonging to Lazaro and Pelaez, a married couple who lived in Yonkers, New York.
The prosecutors said Lazaro admitted using a false name and was a Russian native despite claiming to be Uruguayan.
Prosecutors also said they had "devastating" surveillance photos and videos of Richard Murphy meeting a Russian official in 2004. They said he was planning to travel to Moscow this year on an Irish passport with a different name.
The Murphys led a seemingly normal life in suburban New Jersey -- he stayed at home with their two young children and she commuted to work as a financial planner in New York -- while allegedly working as Russian spies, prosecutors said.
"This offence is about deception and lies on a systematic level," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Farbiarz.
Prosecutors also said they have video of Pelaez meeting with a Russian government official in Latin America where they say money was exchanged and that they have more than 100 messages between the Murphys and their Russian handlers.
Farbiarz said the case extended beyond the 11 suspects, and that there were "a lot of Russian government agents in this country who are actively participating in this conspiracy."
The case has ruffled relations between the United States and Russia. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin first accused U.S. authorities of being "out of control" but officials in Moscow and Washington have since cooled their tone, saying the incident would not affect relations.
In Boston, a hearing was postponed for two other suspected spies, Donald Heathfield and a woman who called herself defendant No. 5 but court papers call Tracey Lee Ann Foley.
Heathfield's attorney, Peter Krupp, called the case against his client "extremely thin."
"It essentially suggests that they successfully infiltrated neighbourhoods, cocktail parties and the PTA," he told reporters following the hearing.
The Boston defendants lived near Harvard University in Cambridge, where Heathfield worked as a consultant and Foley was a real estate agent, according to local media.
Prosecutors said the man arrested in Cyprus, Christopher Metsos, had been released on bail but is now a fugitive. Suspect Anna Chapman was denied bail on Monday in New York.