Man with gas cans in St. Patrick's Cathedral planned to burn it down, prosecutor says

Sean Piccoli

April 25, 2019 8:26 AM

NEW YORK — The 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.

Man with gas cans in St. Patrick's Cathedral planned to burn it down, prosecutor says

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 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.”

His intent? “To burn down St. Patrick’s Cathedral,” McGrath said.

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.

He was charged with attempted second-degree arson for the April 17 incident, and he faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. The judge ordered that he be held without bail at Bellevue to undergo a psychiatric examination. He entered no plea at the hearing.

DiLorenzo asked the judge to order psychiatric examination for his client.

Stuart said investigators obtained phone messages and other materials under a search warrant that indicated Lamparello intended to start a fire, and had “spent considerable time planning and surveilling the location.”

Church ushers spotted Lamparello about 20 feet inside the church’s doors April 17. One approached him and smelled “a strong odor of gasoline,” according to a criminal complaint. The ushers told Lamparello he could not stay in the church.

He left, spilling gasoline on the floor, authorities said. Outside, a police officer spotted him with the gas canisters and a black bag holding two containers of lighter fluid and a lighter, according to the criminal complaint.

Lamparello, who has addresses in Brooklyn and in New Jersey, told the officer that his van had run out of gas and he was trying to take a shortcut through the church to get back to the vehicle. He was initially charged with resisting arrest, defiant trespassing and interfering with the administration of law.

It was the second church-related arrest that week for Lamparello. On April 15, he was arrested inside Newark, New Jersey’s Sacred Heart Cathedral after police said he refused to leave the sanctuary. He told officers the church was a house of God and should be open at all hours before throwing himself on the floor and vowing to stay, the authorities said.

DiLorenzo said his client, a doctoral student at the City University of New York, had been going through a mental breakdown in recent months.

Not only was Lamparello arrested in Newark’s cathedral earlier this month, but in December, he walked into the police headquarters in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, and reported he was being stalked and that police were following him.

“It is clear that Mr. Lamparello suffered from a psychotic episode,” DiLorenzo said Wednesday, “and the events leading up to and including the incident at St. Patrick’s Cathedral support this conclusion.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Sean Piccoli

Enhance Your Pulse News Experience!

Get rewards worth up to $20 when selected to participate in our exclusive focus group. Your input will help us to make informed decisions that align with your needs and preferences.

I've got feedback!