The Flatbush Shomrim Safety Patrol on Wednesday congratulated Bergen County, N.J. authorities for the prompt arrest of a suspect identified as an anti-Semite in the firebombing of a Rutherford shul.

The arrest came less than two weeks after the attack on the residential area of the Congregation Beth El where Rabbi Neil Schuman and his family were sleeping.

Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli named the suspect as 19 year old Anthony M. Graziano, of Westervelt Place, in Lodi, N.J. He is also charged with an earlier arson and firebombing of the Temple K’hal Adath Jeshrun of Paramus on Jan. 3rd.

The arrest shows that the prosecutor, police department, state attorney general and the FBI all took the case seriously from the outset, said Chaim Deutsch, founder of the Flatbush Shomrim Safety Patrol.

“A bias act against any group is a bias act against all,” said Mr. Deutsch. “We must all come together to recognize the outstanding job of all the law enforcement professionals involved. When different agencies work together without looking at territory, that’s when you get enormous results. These men and women must be commended not only across New York and New Jersey but around the globe.

The charges are the result of a joint investigation by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Major Crimes Unit, under the direction of Chief Steven Cucciniello; the Rutherford Police Department; the Paramus Police Department; the New Jersey State Attorney General’s Office, Division of Criminal Justice, Jeffrey Chiesa, Attorney General and Stephen Taylor, Director; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Newark Field Office, Michael Ward, Special Agent in Charge.

Rabbi Schuman and his family, including five children, were asleep when the firebombs crashed into their home early in the morning of Jan. 11. The rabbi suffered minor burns on his hands extinguishing the flames as his family escaped.

Police identified the suspect by checking surveillance tapes area stores, which showed Graziano purchasing some of the materials used in the attack, they said, and tips helped identify the man in the video.

Mr. Deutsch noted that there have been five anti-Semitic incidents in the area in recent months. “This arrest shows how vitally important it is for the public to be partners with law enforcement, providing important information for them to investigate,” he said. “Those who provided the tips also deserve our respect and gratitude.”

Graziano is charged with nine counts of first-degree attempted murder, one count each of first-degree bias intimidation and first-degree aggravated arson for the Rutherford attack as well as first-degree aggravated arson, first-degree bias intimidation and third-degree arson for related to the Paramus incident.

“Hopefully the prosecution will win an conviction and a dangerous anti-Semite will have been taken off the street,” said Mr. Deutsch.

FLATBUSHSCOOP.COM