Suspect Confesses He's A Russian Spy

Peruvian-born newspaper columnist Vicky Pelaez who, with her husband and nine others, was arrested in late June on suspicion of spying for Russia.

U.S. prosecutors say a suspect in the Russia spy case has confessed after his arrest that he was a Russian agent.

A U.S. judge postponed a decision on whether to grant bail to the suspect, who operated under the false identity of Juan Lazaro.

The judge ruled that the suspect's wife, journalist Vicky Pelaez, who is a U.S. citizen, could be released under house arrest on a $250,000 bond, as she appeared not to be a trained agent.

The couple are among 11 "deep-cover" suspects charged with trying to infiltrate U.S. policymaking circles in a spy scandal that has threatened to upset ties between Washington and Moscow.

The judge denied bail to another couple, Richard and Cynthia Murphy, accused of secretly garnering high-level contacts since the mid-1990s while posing as a suburban New Jersey couple.

Bail hearings for five other alleged Russian spies were delayed by courts in Alexandria, Virginia, and in Boston.

One suspect was denied bail on June 28.

The 11th suspect has disappeared after being released on bail in Cyprus.

compiled from agency reports