NYTimes | Federal
officials charged today that a group mostly made up of police officers,
firefighters and private security guards set the string of fires three
years ago that brought Boston the nationally reported title of ''arson
capital of the world.''
The fires
were set, according to United States Attorney William Weld, to scare the
public into supporting more positions for the Police and Fire
Departments after property tax reductions had reduced their ranks.
Federal
agents arrested six people in three states this morning, and a seventh
surrendered in Boston this afternoon. Two of the defendants were armed
when arrested. The five arrested in the Boston area pleaded not guilty
at a hearing here today. More charges and arrests were expected, Federal
and state officials said.
Largest Arson Case
Mr.
Weld said the 83-count Federal indictment announced today was believed
to be ''the largest single arson case in history, state or Federal, in
terms of the number of fires involved.''
The indictment alleges that beginning
sometime after July 1981, as the effect of a statewide tax-cutting
measure forced layoffs of many police officers and firefighters in
Massachusetts, the members of the group set 163 fires in Boston and nine
surrounding cities and towns. The outlying fires were set to divert
investigators away from Boston, the indictment said.
It also said that defendants who worked for a security company burned a client's building to distract attention from themselves.
The buildings burned included houses,
churches, factories, restaurants, a Marine Corps barracks and the
Massachusetts Fire Academy. A total of 281 firefighters were injured in
the fires.
The fires listed in the
indictment grew in frequency and number over the months. They stirred
deep public apprehension here, generated local and national news
accounts, and two years ago resulted in the Federal investigation that
produced the indictments.
The
indictments and arrests were announced by an assembly of Federal and
state officials that included the District Attorneys of five counties,
officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Stephen E. Higgins,
director of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
