Crime & Safety

January Fire at Giuseppe's Determined Arson

East Haven police are investigating the early-morning Jan. 3 fire at Giuseppe's Apizza. Another fire that morning at 200 Warner Road was also a case of arson.

The State Fire Marshal's Office has determined that the Jan. 3 fire at Giuseppe's Apizza was arson, according to East Haven Fire Marshal Tony Moscato. Patch is the first to learn.

The East Haven Police Department is investigating.

Moscato said the final report from the state is "forthcoming." Giuseppe's shares a small shopping strip at 853 Foxon Road with three other businesses.

Find out what's happening in East Havenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Jan. 3 blaze at Giuseppe's was reported at 3:41 a.m. Fewer than three hours later, at 6:15 a.m.,  firefighters were called to another blaze at 220 Warner Road, which was also determined arson. The occupant, James Carangelo, 43, was arrested on charges of first-degree arson, unlawful discharge of a firearm and two counts of cruelty to animals. He allegedly shot his dog and fatally shot his cat. The dog survived and has since been adopted. (Click here and here for background stories.)

"As far as I know there was no connection," said Moscato of the two arsons.

Find out what's happening in East Havenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Police Lt. Joe Slane said Det. Robert Ranfone is leading the Giuseppe investigation. Slane said he didn't know the particulars of the probe and said Ranfone is not scheduled for duty for the next couple of days, but referred questions to Sgt. Bruce Scobie, who oversees Ranfone.

Attempts to reach the owner of Giuseppe's, Camillo Bonesse, were unsuccessful. A message left this afternoon for the landlord, Kwang Maeng, was not immediately returned.

Bonesse reportedly had no fire or comprehensive insurance on his pizzeria.

Moscato couldn't say where the fire at Giuseppe's originated from because of the ongoing investigation but said that most of the damage was in the kitchen. On the morning of the blaze, local and state fire officials were in the kitchen in the back of the building clearing out charred remnants of pots, pans and other cooking supplies.

Moscato said it had been at least a year since there was a proven arson to a building in town. He said last October there was suspicion of an intentional fire at 74 Hemingway Ave., but "we were unable to get enough evidence out of it," he said. Still, arson was never ruled out, said the fire marshal.

There have been two determined arsons of vehicles in the last 12 months, said Moscato. One was to a pickup truck on Rose Street near Foxon Road a  couple of months ago, he said. The other was to a vehicle found in the woods off Elliot Street near D.C. Moore Elementary School last March.

"Thank God we've been very fortunate that we don't have a lot of fires," said Moscato. "There are some cities that have rashes of these fires and arsons."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.