Restaurateur Who Burned Down His Business Is Going To Prison

NEWBURGH, NY — The restaurant owner who was convicted of burning down his business, with the help of his nephew’s wife, found out how long he will spend in prison.

Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said Zef Gjurashaj, 60, of Newburgh, was sentenced Wednesday to a total of 22-1/3 years to life in prison for burning down his restaurant for profit in 2017.

He was convicted by a jury Sept. 26, 2022 of first-degree arson, second-degree conspiracy, two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree insurance fraud and fifth-degree tax fraud.

Prior to the trial, Gjurashaj’s co-defendant and the wife of his nephew, Marina Gjurashaj, 38, of Yonkers, pleaded guilty to third-degree arson and fourth-degree conspiracy for her role in setting the fire.

As part of her plea agreement, Marina Gjurashaj testified against Zef Gjurashaj.

Prosecutors argued in court that Zef Gjurashaj had exploited the woman’s immigration status and history as a domestic violence victim to induce her to help him with the arson.

During Zef Gjurashaj’s trial, prosecutors said the pair conspired with each other to intentionally burn down Andiamo’s Restaurant, which was located at 5025 Route 9W in the town of Newburgh in September 2017.

Zef Gjurashaj, who operated the restaurant at the time, knew the business was in a steep financial decline and decided to burn the business for the insurance.

He told Marina Gjurashaj how to start the fire and removed a plug from a propane line in the kitchen, which allowed for the free flow of propane into the room once the value was turned.

The investigation into the fire found that on Sept. 6, 2017, at the direction of Zef Gjurashaj, Marina Gjurashaj intentionally set fire to the building to help her “uncle” by spraying an ignitable liquid on the floor of the kitchen, opening the valve to the propane line and lighting the liquid.

Authorities said the fire was of such ferocity that in addition to decimating the building, it put the first responding firefighters, as well as Zef Gjurashaj’s wife, who was present at the time of the fire, at grave risk of death.

During the sentencing procedures, a transcript was read, over the objections of the defense counsel, of a phone call between Zef Gjurashaj and his wife that showed he had purposely arranged for his unsuspecting wife to be present when the propane line was opened and the fire started.

Zef Gjurashaj was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the arson charge. He was also sentenced to concurrent terms in prison for conspiracy, insurance fraud, tax fraud and one of the reckless endangerment charges.

The judge noted the extreme danger that Gjurashaj had placed the firefighters, police officers and other first responders in and sentenced him to a consecutive term of two and one-third to seven years in prison on the second reckless endangerment charge.

Hoovler said the first, which was set just for Gjurashaj’s financial gain, created an extremely dangerous situation for first responders as well as his wife.

“Arson for profit, is, by its nature, an incredibly challenging crime to prosecute because of the complexity of the evidence as well as because, as in this case, the perpetrator often intentionally attempts to destroy any link between themselves and the crime,” he said.

“The utter disregard for human life and property exhibited in this case is appalling,” Hoovler said.