NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Queens man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to firebombing an apartment building in Flushing, causing a massive blaze that injured three firefighters in the response, the United State Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace announced.
Atahualpa Rodriguez, 50, pleaded guilty to committing arson to the building early this year. When he is sentenced, he will face a mandatory sentence of five years in prison to a maximum of 20.
“Deliberately setting a fire is an egregious crime that deserves severe punishment,” FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker said. “In this case, three of our firefighters were injured due to this unspeakable crime. We are relieved Atahualpa Rodriguez will no longer be on our city’s streets.”
On Jan. 11, Rodriguez got into a dispute with one of the tenants of a multi-story apartment building on Parsons Boulevard, according to court filings and facts from the plea proceeding. The next day, he firebombed the building, which contained about 175 units and hundreds of tenants.
One of the building residents woke up at about 4:40 a.m. to the sound of breaking glass and heard a voice say “F—k you all,” prosecutors said. The resident then walked out of the bedroom and saw the fire that Rodriguez ignited.
One firefighter was injured when a section of ceiling collapsed on him during the emergency response, another suffered first-degree burns and a third was hospitalized after breathing in contaminated air, officials said.
The first also caused about $1 million in damages and completely destroyed the targeted apartment unit.
“[Rodriguez’s] actions showed complete disregard for human life and placed hundreds of people in grave danger over a personal dispute,” Peace said. “[He] will now face just punishment for his actions.”