NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- The man accused of trying to set fire to St. Patrick's Cathedral was arraigned on charges of attempted arson and reckless endangerment on Wednesday.
Wearing a patterned blue gown and sporting a thick beard, 37-year-old Marc Lamparello made his initial court appearance via video link from a hospital.
According to prosecutors, Lamparello’s goal the night he brought gas cans, lighter fluid and long lighters into Saint Patrick’s Cathedral was to burn down the historic 5th Avenue church. Prosecutors say they came to that conclusion after reading messages on Lamparello’s phone.
Lamparello allegedly sat outside the cathedral the day before to develop a plan for how to best slip past security and get to the wooden pews which authorities say he planned to use as accelerants. He was stopped and arrested before he could make it to the pews.
Officials say two days before the incident at St. Pat's, Lamparello was arrested at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark after he refused to leave and got into a fight with two sheriff's deputies.
Prosecutors call Lamparello a flight risk, pointing to the fact he had a one-way flight for Rome booked for the day after he was allegedly planning to burn down St. Pat's. He also had booked a reservation at a hotel just 20 minutes from the Vatican.
For now, the 37-year-old CUNY PhD student will remain in the hospital and undergo a mental examination before another court hearing next month.
The incident at St. Patrick's Cathedral happened just days after a fire ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.