WOODBURY, NJ -- Two former Washington Township volunteer firefighters pleaded guilty Friday to official misconduct in connection with several arsons in 2004. They admitted that they ignited the flames, then fought the fires with fellow members of the Whitman Square Fire Company.
Nicholas A. Falconiero, 20, and Stephen E. Clark, 19, struck a plea bargain Friday with the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office on third-degree charges of official misconduct. Under the terms of the agreement, each would serve 364 days in county jail plus one to five years' probation, undergo a program of counseling, and pay fines.
Falconiero and Clark also face a lifetime ban on holding the position of firefighter or police officer.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 18.
At Friday's court hearing, Clark admitted to driving Falconiero from the Whitman Square Fire Company to a location behind the Target store in Washington Township, where Falconiero used a fluid to start a fire. Clark then drove them back to the fire station.
Glen L. Schemanski, Falconiero's attorney, asked Falconiero what happened next: "As a member of the fire department, you actually fought that fire?" Schemanski asked.
"Yes," Falconiero replied.
Also charged in the case was Joseph Castagno, 20, of Washington Township, a Washington Township Police Explorer. On Dec. 17, he pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree arson and is expected to be sentenced to probation.
After their arrests, Falconiero and Clark were suspended from the fire department and Castagno from the Explorer program. The three were charged with setting a total of six brush and building fires in Washington Township between Jan. 21 and March 3, 2004. There were no personal injuries, but property damage was estimated in excess of $5,000.
At sentencing for Falconiero and Clark, charges of aggravated arson, conspiracy and failure to report a fire are to be dismissed, according to officials.
"The fact that two of the three individuals involved were part of our organization causes the fire department great concern," Washington Township Fire Chief John Hoffman has said. "The members of this organization feel personally violated by these acts ... and we would expect the prosecution in this case to be swift and punishment issued to the fullest extent of the law."
Gloucester County Assistant Prosecutor Margaret Cipparrone said the case showed Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton's dedication to prosecuting crimes of arson to the best of the office's ability.
"We will prosecute arsons 100 percent," she said. "We will back our firefighters 100 percent."
