Cynthia and Richard Murphys are as American as a bowl of borscht.
The Montclair New Jersey couple, arrested on Sunday and accused of spying for Russia is described by neighbors in the New York Times as “suburbia personified.” A longtime friend in the New York Daily News said “they seemed like a decent young couple.”

Despite their best efforts to become Americanized, the so called Murphys didn’t fool everyone. Another family friend who talked to Fox News suspected something odd about the couple, and even joked years ago that the Murphys might be “working as Russian Spies.”

According to the friend who asked to remain anonymous, when he first met the Murphys they were “extremely friendly.” The two families each had kids about the same age and used the same day care. They also spent time together having dinner. The friend was also a client of the accounting firm where Cynthia worked. But over time the friend said “something didn’t make sense.” The more he got to know the Murphys, the more suspicious he became about their past.

According to the friend, although Richard was an avowed Republican with a photo of former President Bush on the refrigerator something didn’t seem quite right.

Cynthia said she was Belgian. Richard claimed to hail from Pennsylvania. The friend said they never explained why they had what sounded like “eastern European accents.” He said the last name Murphy was not believable.

Court documents reveal the Murphys got into an argument with the Moscow spy agency that sent them to the U.S. FBI intercepts reveal the couple wanted to be the owners of the New Jersey home where they lived. Moscow disagreed and said the spy agency should have ownership. The Murphys argued that “in a society that values home ownership” they should “do as the Romans do.”

Ironically, the Murphys who lived a lie, concealing their past, only wanted a small piece of the American Dream.