Former Ridgewood Man Gets 5 Years For Setting Fire: Report

RIDGEWOOD, NJ – A 66-year-old former Ridgewood resident with ties to the Neo-Nazis was sentenced to five years in prison after he pled guilty to starting a fire at a New York gas station, according to a report.

Jacques Pluss, who now lives in Sullivan County, admitted he intentionally cut a propane line and set fire to a Sunoco Country Store while it was occupied by employees, including his wife, The Times Herald Record reported.

Pluss was a member of the neo-Nazis and adjunct professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, where he was terminated after officials learned he was part of the National Socialist Movement, according to media reports.

A 2011 report by the Southern Poverty Law Center says that after his firing, Pluss claimed that his ties to the group were part of an academic research project, but later retracted those statements.

Pluss also filed a federal lawsuit against Ridgewood, claiming he and his significant other were brutalized during a January 2011 police search of their home,NJ.com reported. Authorities secured a search warrant after learning Pluss allegedly made threats online against Anti-Defamation League Director Abraham Foxman, the newspaper reported.