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Posted: March 20, 2003
Ramses "Ramzi" Uthman was arrested in Los Angeles, California, on March 14, for allegedly setting fire to a synagogue near Syracuse, New York. He had eluded authorities for more than two years.
Uthman, 29, of Syracuse and Dearborn Heights, Michigan, allegedly broke into the Temple Beth El synagogue in DeWitt on October 13, 2000, and used gasoline to start a fire that caused approximately $700,000 in damages.
The fire, which coincided with the start of Sukkot, a Jewish harvest festival observed in the fall, also left students and staff at a Montessori school that rented space at the synagogue without classrooms.
The Anti-Defamation League, which offered assistance to the community at the time of the attack, applauded the Syracuse District Attorney's Office and federal, state and local law enforcement for the arrest, and called for the crimes to be prosecuted under New York State's hate crimes statutes.
Onandaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick told reporters that the arson "was a crime not only against the people of this congregation, it was a crime against the Jewish community and all people of faith in Central New York."
Uthman, a U.S. citizen born in Venezuela of Palestinian parents, is facing numerous charges, including arson, burglary, and criminal mischief. He is also charged with four counts of committing a hate crime. He faces up to 25 years in prison on the state charges. If convicted of a federal hate crime, he could face up to 40 years in prison.
Approximately 150 agents from the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Immigration and Naturalization Service, U.S. Marshals Service, and state and local police were involved in the investigation.
Fitzpatrick said Uthman avoided authorities by using aliases and different passports and addresses. Fitzpatrick added that intelligence provided by a witness in November 2002 led authorities to Dearborn, Michigan, where they discovered that Uthman had been treated at a hospital for burns shortly after the arson.
A second man, Ahed Shehadeh, allegedly drove Uthman to and from the synagogue. Shehadeh is currently serving a 2- to 4-year prison term in New York on an unrelated burglary conviction. He may face charges at a later date, but reportedly has been cooperating with authorities.
Authorities in Syracuse are seeking Uthman's extradition to New York.
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