Mystery surrounds alleged spies' children

Mystery surrounds alleged spies' children

With parents behind bars, kids' lives likely in turmoil

by Elizabeth Chuck and Ryan McCartney
msnbc.com
updated 6/30/2010 7:00:35 PM ET

A pool party on Sunday ended abruptly for 11-year-old Katie Murphy when the FBI swung by and whisked her back to her Montclair, N.J., home. That same night in Yonkers, N.Y., Waldomar Mariscal, 38, returned to the house he shares with his parents to find officers combing through his family’s possessions.

For 10 people alleged to be Russian spies, there is little question they’ll be held in FBI custody. But for their children, the immediate future isn’t quite as clear...

Cases involving the arrests of both parents on spying charges are rare in the U.S. One of the most high-profile cases was Robert Meeropol, who was orphaned as a child after his parents, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, were executed on spy charges during the McCarthy era. Meeropol now runs The Rosenberg Fund for Children, an organization aimed at providing emotional and educational support for children in the U.S. whose parents “have suffered because of their progressive activities,” according to the foundation’s website.

Read the rest of the story at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38021300/ns/us_news-security/...