Office of the District Attorney

P. David Soares
6 Lodge Street
Albany, New York 12207
(518) 487-5460
(518) 487-5093 FAX

Soares Announces Indictments in 3 Arson Cases

Credits Arson Task Force

ALBANY , NY –  District Attorney P. David Soares today announced the indictments in three cases of arson.

DANIEL REYNOLDS. 24, of 243 Remsen Street, Cohoes, NY has been indicted on 8 counts including two counts of Arson in the 2nd Degree and 6 counts of Reckless Endangerment in the 1 st Degree for the arson of the residence and flower store that until one week ago occupied this site and the arson of 235 Remsen Street. He faces a possible 25 years on each of the arson counts. The fire not only destroyed a building but ruined Rizzo's Florist, a locally owned business serving the people of this community for over 30 years. The building above the flower shop was fully occupied and the fire placed several people in immanent danger. It took the heroism of Cohoes Fire Department to rescue the residents of the burning building. REYNOLDS has also been indicted for the arson of 58 Congress Street during the same evening.

HOMER BOSH, 66, formerly of 62 1 st Street , Albany , NY has been indicted on one count of Arson in the 3 rd Degree, two counts of Reckless Endangerment, and one count of Insurance Fraud. He is alleged to have started the fire at 62 First Street in Albany , NY on or about 11:00 AM on the 29 th day of April, 2005. BOSH faces 15 years in state prison.

JAMES E. RICHARDSON has been indicted for Arson in the 3rd Degree. The indictment alleges that on or about the 14 th day of November 2004, RICHARDSON intentionally ignited petroleum distillate in the kitchen area of 107 Orange Street in Albany , NY . RICHARDSON faces a possible 15 years in state prison.

Each of these cases have been closed by the efforts of the Albany Arson Task Force including members of local law enforcement and fire departments along with investigators from the NYS Bureau of Fire Prevention and Control, NYS Insurance Fraud Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and arson investigator Bobby Muller from the of the Office of the District Attorney.

These investigations are dangerous, dirty and difficult. It is the nature of the crime of arson that most of the evidence is destroyed by the crime itself. It is the challenge of the fire investigators from the Arson Task Force to overcome these hurdles and identify the source of the fire and trace that source back to an individual. In case after case, the team has been successful.

Arson fires closed just in the past year by the Arson Task Force include:

• 58 Congress and 235 Remson - Daniel Reynolds indicted
• 62 1 st Street , Albany – Homer Bosh arrested and indicted
• 572-6 Central Avenue , Albany – young people remanded to family court
• 59-61 Grand Street , Albany – John Watson CF
• 90 3 rd Street , Albany – Jerome Williams sentenced to 15 years
• 107 Orange Street , Albany – James Richardson indicted

In addition to these cases, members of the Arson Task Force are called to a great many fire scenes to determine if the cause is suspicious or accidental. In the past year there has been such a call on average once every other week.

DA Soares also noted that several suspicious fires remain open investigations. These include fires at:

• 17 Robin Street
• 456 1 st Street
• 4 Madison Place
• 4 Delaware Street and
• 70 Grand Street

all in the City of Albany . “I am calling today for any members of the public who have any information whatsoever regarding possible suspects or leads in any of these fires to come forward and call the Arson Hotline number 447-7892. We are determined to solve every single one of these cases and we are asking for your help to bring the perpetrators to justice,” Soares said.

For further information contact: Rachel McEneny