HOBOKEN — Although alleged spies Richard and Cynthia Murphy lived in Hoboken for at least five years before moving to Montclair, N.J., an FBI complaint against them rarely mentions the city.
The complaint, featured in several newspapers, mostly details the federal government’s allegations that Richard obtained computer equipment and took trips allegedly in order to pass along state secrets.
A passage from the complaint says that on Sept. 23, 2004, law enforcement officers “intercepted aural communications taking place inside the Hoboken apartment.” The complaint said that Cynthia told Richard to “improve his information-collection efforts” by finding a way to connect with important people high up in government, since his documentation was not strong enough for him to get a high-level government job himself.
Later in the document, the federal government says that Russia’s SVR (the modern KGB) suggested that Cynthia use colleagues in the education field to help her get a job, and find out information about students who apply to the CIA.