Bergen K-9 units check synagogues after accused firebomber denies guilt
Police K-9 units swept dozens of area synagogues for incendiary materials Wednesday, hours after a Lodi teenager pleaded not guilty to charges related to the firebombing of one Bergen County synagogue and an arson attack at another.
Rabbi Nosson Schuman and his wife Pessy, react outside their Montross Avenue home in Rutherford today after learning a suspect had been arrested in the firebombing.
The outdoor checks — all within a 10-mile radius of the Lodi home of suspect Anthony Graziano — were using so-called “accelerant dogs” whose sense of smell is roughly 1,000 times more acute than any human’s, said Bergen County Police Chief Brian Higgins.
Thirty-two synagogues had been checked by Wednesday evening and nothing suspicious was found, said county police Lt. James Giblin, who is leading the task force. Giblin said about 70 sites were on the list.
Bias incidents
These are the bias incidents authorities have been investigating over the past few months. Law enforcement officials do not believe they are all linked. Anyone with information may call the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit at 201-226-5651
Jan. 11: An incendiary device was thrown through the window of Congregation Beth El in Rutherford, an Orthodox synagogue and home, injuring the rabbi and causing a small fire. Authorities are treating the attack as attempted murder.
Jan. 3: Members of Congregation K’Hal Adath Jeshurun in Paramus, an Orthodox synagogue, reported a strong odor of gas in the building. Authorities said an accelerant was used in the rear of the building to start a fire. No one was injured, and the blaze self-extinguished, causing minimal damage to the building’s exterior.
Jan. 1: New York police arrested a Queens man and filed arson and bias charges against him in connection with a series of New Year’s Day attacks at several locations in New York City, including an Islamic center. No one was injured in the attacks, which involved the use of Molotov cocktails.
Dec. 21: Swastikas, white-supremacist symbols and an accusation that Jews caused the 9/11 terrorist attacks were found spray-painted on the façade of Temple Beth El, a Conservative synagogue in Hackensack, on the first day of Hanukkah.
Dec. 10: Anti-Semitic graffiti were spray-painted on the property of Reconstructionist Temple Beth Israel in Maywood. November: Three swastikas were reported painted at three locations in Kinnelon.
“It’s just a precautionary measure,” he said. Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli, who ordered the searches, said they would take about 48 hours. Members of the Jewish community welcomed the searches, which were ordered by Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli.
“We see this as a positive step forward in both real security terms and reassuring the Jewish community that measures are being taken in preventing this type of activity from recurring again,” said Jason Shamas, chief executive director of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey.
Graziano, 19, pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning, but his motive for allegedly firebombing Congregation Beth El in Rutherford and attempting to set fire to Congregation K’hal Adath Jeshurun in Paramus this month remained unclear.
