The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office on Jan. 23, 2012 announced the arrest of 19-year-old Anthony Graziano of Lodi for recent firebombings at two North Jersey synagogues: the Jan. 3, 2012 attack on Congregation K’hal Adath Jeshurun of Paramus and the Jan. 11, 2012 attack on Congregation Beth El in Rutherford. He was being held on $5 million bail.
The attacks put the region's Jewish community on edge and prompted round-the-clock police patrols. "I'm elated," Rabbi Nosson Schuman said Tuesday. "It's been a very stressful two weeks even with police coverage at our home [where one of the attacks occurred]. The great fear he brought is lifted off our shoulders,” Schuman said. We're still a little scared because obviously this guy's not normal. Maybe this will restore life back to some normality, though we will still be doing outreach to try and restore unity."
“There is no connection between him and any congregationist. There is no connection between him and the rabbi,” Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said. During the time period when the attacks occurred, Molinelli said, Graziano lacked access to a car but “He simply Googled area synagogues, obviously taking into consideration that he would be utilizing his bike to get there, probably choosing synagogues in more residential areas.”
In the Rutherford attack on Jan. 11, 2012, according to the police, one of the first firebombs he threw into the building landed in the Rabbi Nosson Schuman's second-floor bedroom and ignited while the family was asleep. The rabbi, whose hands were burned by the Molotov cocktail, his wife, five children and his parents were sleeping at the time.
The Rutherford attack narrowly avoided causing serious injury and possibly death. Molinelli said that investigators believe Graziano knew there were people inside when he threw Molotov cocktails into the building.
Once the ingredients of the Molotov cocktails used in the Rutherford attack were identified _ low-grade motor oil, duct tape, hairspray and empty bottles of raspberry Crush soda _ investigators searched for stores that sold all those items. They came up with a Wal-Mart in nearby Saddle Brook and were able to pull surveillance video showing a man buying those items on Jan. 9, 2012. (see picture at top of article)
The Prosecutor’s Office then released security footage, photos and surveillance video, of a man leaving the Wal-Mart after allegedly purchasing and paying in cash for some of the items used to make the firebomb used in the Rutherford attack. Tips from the public led them to Mr. Graziano at the residence where he lives with his mother and siblings, according to the prosecutor's office.
(Picture above is of Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli pointing to the ingredients used to build the firebombs.)
The authorities said Mr. Graziano, who is unemployed, was a 2010 graduate of Hasbrouck Heights High School, in the process of attending Bergen Community College. Graziano is believed to have acted alone, Molinelli said. He is a loner who didn't appear to have much of a social life. Molinelli implied that evidence recovered during a search of Graziano's residence related to the synagogue attacks wasn't the only indication of his religious views, but he declined to elaborate.
“Mr. Graziano is somebody that is an anti-Semite,” Molinelli said. “We have no doubt that the arson and the attempted murder in Rutherford were directly the result of Mr. Graziano’s hatred for people of the Jewish faith.” “We believe that he did this because they were synagogues and specifically to intimidate and cause alarm or concern to people of the Jewish community.”
The earlier fire Graziano set was at Congregation K'Hal Adath Jeshuran in Paramus and was discovered on the morning of Jan. 3, 2012 when members smelled gas in the building and contacted authorities. Fire and police officials determined an accelerant had been used in the rear of the building to start a fire. The fire had quickly burned itself out, and no injuries were reported.
Molinelli speculated that Graziano might have changed his methods after the Paramus attack, resulting in far more firepower directed at the Rutherford synagogue.
The BCPO continues investigating the anti-Semitic graffiti incidents at synagogues in Maywood and Paramus In the weeks leading up to the fire bombings, but does not believe Graziano was involved, Molinelli said. Two days after the Rutherford attack, a swastika was found scrawled in a park in Fair Lawn, though police haven't said if it is connected to the other incidents. The investigation into a series of anti-Semitic mailings last week to a number of synagogues and institutions has been turned over to New York postal authorities.
It is very disturbing that a hate monger was living right in our midst in Bergen County," said Etzion Neuer, acting New Jersey director of the Anti-Defamation League. "But this sends a message that it will not be tolerated." Graziano’s alleged bias crimes sowed fear in an entire community, and we still are shocked that an individual who lived among us could be so deeply influenced by anti-Semitism that he would consider targeting Jews and Jewish religious institutions with Molotov cocktails.
Graziano has been charged with nine counts of first-degree attempted murder, one count of first-degree bias intimidation, and one count of first-degree aggravated arson in the Rutherford case, and first-degree aggravated arson, first-degree bias intimidation, and third-degree arson for the Paramus case. He likely faces between 40 and 80 years in prison, Molinelli said.
Arson is usually a second-degree offense under New Jersey law, Molinelli explained, but it becomes the first-degree offense of aggravated arson when a house of worship is involved.
Further Reading:
More Attacks against synagogues in New Jersey, USA
Hate Crimes hit New York City Metropolitan Area
The Anti-Defamation League 2010 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents
