13 Responses to “Homeless Man Arrested in Connection with the Greenpoint Fire”

1. tobyjoe Says:
   June 7th, 2006 at 08:19 AM

   Wow. I hope Gutman’s name is cleared in the press and the many blogs out there.

2. mihow Says:
   June 7th, 2006 at 08:23 AM

   I think it’s pretty safe to say that he’s not exactly innocent.

   I will not take back my slamming. :]

3. Jonathan Says:
   June 7th, 2006 at 08:24 AM

   sounds like bullshit/scapegoat to me

   fdny reported that the place was covered with accelerants all over.

4. tobyjoe Says:
   June 7th, 2006 at 09:21 AM

   Slamming him is fine. Definitely not a good guy. And Jon – I would like to see some official reports from FDNY to see if this new claim is crap. It does seem contradictory.

5. mihow Says:
   June 7th, 2006 at 09:27 AM

   Agreed. I don’t think this is a scapegoat at all. He’s a bad guy with a terrible track record, plus, he’s a developer, but I don’t believe he had anything to do with it after all. I was wrong when I said I was certain he did.

6. Jonathan Says:
   June 7th, 2006 at 09:40 AM

   the story was updated.. apparently he made a stack of tires w/accelernt to burn insulation on cables

   that makes it sound even more contradictory

   a- it localizes accelerant b- copper scrap doesn’t pay all that well. if you’re homeless , factor in the cost of accelerant and transportation of the finished product. he’d likely make more money selling the cables as-is to some sketchy contractor.

   on the bright side, guttman was served with 400+ violations today!

7. mihow Says:
   June 7th, 2006 at 09:42 AM

   I know I am often very naive, however, why would a homeless guy take the fall for this? I guess I think that the conspiracy theories are weirder than what the truth might be.

8. Jonathan Says:
   June 7th, 2006 at 09:51 AM

   he gets food + a roof for 3 years,

   when he gets out he has some bank account with $3million of freshly laundered cash in it.

   since he’s not an academic, he doesn’t factor prison rape into the deal, so it looks sweet

9. mihow Says:
   June 7th, 2006 at 09:58 AM

   he gets food + a roof for 3 years,

   See, this just isn’t a good enough reason especially since it’s the first reason to come to mind. No one, not even a homeless person, would prefer jail over having no home at all. It’s crap.

10. hthrs Says:
    June 7th, 2006 at 09:58 AM

    yep. three hots and a cot.

11. tobyjoe Says:
    June 7th, 2006 at 10:03 AM

    Copper scrap does pay well. Two months ago, copper prices skyrocketed. I know people (back in GA) who collect, buy, and sell scrap, and they get by. I see people all the time around the city with coiled wire.

    When I worked construction in the mid 90s, security on new builds was in place to protect the wiring.

    I think the simplest answer is often the proper one, and no matter what, speculation is always a bit risky and fucked up.

12. greg Says:
    June 7th, 2006 at 11:42 AM

    locally people have been stealing the copper wire right off the walls at the local construction sites, home sites and commercial. very lucrative indeed!

13. renee Says:
    June 18th, 2006 at 09:06 PM

    I also don’t believe this homeless man did it. It seems too convenient that a man who is a) Poor b)has no family to help and c) Doesn’t speak much english is arrested for this. I would also like to see reports from police and firemen. As a tax payer I don’t see why I shouldn’t. Is there an organization searching into this? If not, is anyone with me? Please contact me at gypsybroad@hotmail.com

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