Skibitsky, Haas, Deli Owner Not Worried Over Spy Ring; Loughlin Urges Vigilance

While it's unlikely to be featured in the next James Bond film, the suburban New Jersey town of Montclair was recently home to some serious drama with Russian spies.

Two weeks ago, Montclair residents Cynthia and Richard Murphy were arrested as part of an 11-member deep cover spy ring. Neighbors were shocked at the Murphys' arrest, claiming to know nothing about the couple's double life. Of course, Cynthia and Richard Murphy could have just as easily settled in the Gardens or Tamaques, which begs the question: Is this something for Westfielders to worry about?

According to the mayor, it isn't.

"I guess in the bigger picture it's alarming, but when you look at these particular people it didn't look like they infiltrated anything of substance," Mayor Andy Skibitsky said.

Still, he said that it was reassuring that the FBI was doing its job. Councilman David Haas agreed.

"So far as I can tell," Haas said,  "there is little harm that was done by these people, and that which was done was not to their neighbors."  

Haas said it's also not something with which Westfield residents are very concerned. "If the town is worrying about it," Haas said, "I'm not aware of it."

For Jack Kasich, Westfield resident and owner of the Robert Treat Deli on Quimby Street, the arrests were more surreal than troubling. Kitsch, who grew up in the Cold War era reading spy novels, said it was bizarre to watch the stories of espionage and paranoia come to life after the fall of the Soviet Union.

"Now we find it's reality without the Cold War," Kasich said.

But Councilman Keith Loughlin was more reluctant to dismiss the idea as harmless.

"Every threat should be taken seriously," Loughlin said. "The reality is that we face threats from abroad and we also face threats from within. We have to continue to be vigilant."