新泽西州本根县破获雇凶纵火案：三人被控涉2025年住宅纵火，主谋被控一级雇凶纵火罪
新泽西州本根县检察官 Mark Musella 10月19日宣布，三名新泽西男子因涉嫌一起雇凶纵火案被逮捕起诉。被控者为54岁的 Rumson 居民 Anthony V. Coviello、66岁的 Upper Saddle River 居民 Emad E. Gerges 和62岁的 Rumson 居民 Joseph Vulpis。检方指控，Gerges 雇佣 Coviello 和 Vulpis，故意纵火烧毁 Upper Saddle River 的一处住宅；据法庭诉状，Gerges 系该住宅业主。
案件源于2025年5月16日下午约2时23分发生在 Upper Saddle River 的 Lake Road 的一起住宅火灾，房屋被大火吞没，消防部门在邻近城镇增援下将火扑灭，起火原因当时被列为「不明」。2026年4月27日，蒙茅斯县检察官办公室与 Rumson 警方提供的新线索促使本根县检察官办公室纵火组重启调查。调查认定，2025年5月16日当天，Coviello 与 Vulpis 进入该住宅，使用助燃剂和自制点火装置在阁楼纵火。
10月2日，Coviello 在其 Rumson 住所被捕，Vulpis 同日在 Englishtown 警察局自首，两人被控一级雇凶纵火罪、二级加重纵火罪、二级共谋加重纵火罪、三级纵火罪、三级刑事破坏罪及四级未控制或未报告火情罪。10月16日，Gerges 被捕，被控一级雇凶纵火罪和二级共谋加重纵火罪。三人均被还押本根县监狱，在 Hackensack 的本根县高等法院首次出庭后获释候审。检方未公开涉案报酬的具体金额。检方强调，刑事指控仅为指控而非定罪，三名被告在被证明有罪前均推定无罪。
Three Charged in Bergen County Arson-for-Hire Case Over 2025 Upper Saddle River House Fire
Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced on October 19 the arrests of three New Jersey men in an arson-for-hire investigation: Anthony V. Coviello, 54, of Rumson; Emad E. Gerges, 66, of Upper Saddle River; and Joseph Vulpis, 62, of Rumson. Prosecutors allege Gerges hired Coviello and Vulpis to intentionally set fire to a residence in Upper Saddle River; according to the court complaint, Gerges is the homeowner.
The case stems from a residential fire on Lake Road in Upper Saddle River at about 2:23 p.m. on May 16, 2025, in which the house was engulfed in flames and extinguished with mutual aid from nearby towns; the cause was initially classified as undetermined. On April 27, 2026, information from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and the Rumson Police Department led the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Arson Squad to reopen the investigation. Detectives determined that on May 16, 2025, Coviello and Vulpis entered the home and used an accelerant and a homemade ignitor to set fire to the attic.
Coviello was arrested at his Rumson home on October 2, and Vulpis surrendered the same day at the Englishtown Police Department; both were charged with first-degree arson for hire, second-degree aggravated arson, second-degree conspiracy to commit aggravated arson, third-degree arson, third-degree criminal mischief and fourth-degree failure to control or report a fire. Gerges was arrested on October 16 and charged with first-degree arson for hire and second-degree conspiracy to commit aggravated arson. All three were remanded to the Bergen County Jail, made first appearances in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack, and were released pending further court action. The charges are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：新泽西州 Hackensack 的本根县法院大楼。图片来源：Stephdurante，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons / Photo: Bergen County Court House in Hackensack, New Jersey. Stephdurante, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
