Man With Gas Cans in St. Patrick’s Cathedral Planned to Burn It Down, Prosecutor Says
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/nyregion/st-patricks-cathedral-attack-marc-lamparello.htmlThe philosophy teacher charged last week with carrying gas cans and lighter fluid into St. Patrick’s Cathedral had a clear plan, prosecutors say, to set the Fifth Avenue landmark ablaze.
The man, Marc Lamparello, had also booked a one-way flight to Rome — and a hotel room within a 20 minutes’ drive of the Vatican, a prosecutor told a judge on Wednesday.
“He was present at the church the day before,†the prosecutor, David Stuart, told Judge Kevin McGrath during a video arraignment in Manhattan criminal court. “And was present at the church for more than an hour before walking in that night.â€
His intent? “To burn down St. Patrick’s Cathedral,†Mr. Stuart said.
Mr. Lamparello, a 37-year-old graduate student and philosophy teacher, watched Wednesday’s proceeding over a closed-circuit video link to Bellevue Hospital Center, where he sat in a hospital gown next to his lawyer, Christopher DiLorenzo....