Man accused of setting multiple fires in Brownsville
A man was charged this week with arson for allegedly setting multiple fires in Brownsville in July.
Nicholas Diluzio III, 54, of Second Street may have mental health concerns that spurred his alleged actions, according to a statement his girlfriend gave police.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, state police responded to Mulligan Manor July 11 for a report of a fire and learned multiple other fires had been set in the area that night. The night before, firefighters responded to the housing project for a false alarm. They told police a man, later identified as Diluzio, was acting strangely, arguing and trying to fight them. State police said he had an active arrest warrant.
When a trooper asked Diluzio if he knew what happened that night, he reportedly responded by saying “Oh yeah,” and winking at the trooper. He allegedly said he was the person who argued with firefighters and admitted to setting other fires, then later retracted the statement saying he only set a fire in the woods.
After leaving the scene, police also discovered a fire at an abandoned building at 125 Brownsville Ave. A state police fire marshal determined the fire was set intentionally. Police also found a burned trash bin at he Brownsville Wharf, with charred and burned trash scattered around it.
Investigation determined Diluzio set the fires, according to the affidavit.
He reportedly spoke to police about a son who died, saying he gave him matches and that he was “as tall as a telephone pole” and “looked like Spider-Man.” His girlfriend told police he was probably referring to her son, who died in December 2016. Diluzio sometimes roamed Brownsville in the dark, she reportedly told police.
“She continued to relay that he may need mental help,” state police Tpr. Zachary Jasper wrote in court paperwork.
Diluzio is charged with arson, recklessly endangering another person and criminal mischief. Charges were filed Monday before Magisterial District Judge Mike Defino Jr. Arraignment information is not listed on his docket sheet.