Friday, April 19, 2019

Man Who Took Gas, Lighters to NYC Cathedral Had Booked One-Way Flight to Rome


By Zachary Stieber April 19, 2019



Marc Lamparello, 37, center, is escorted out of a police precinct in New York on, April 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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The man who took two full gas cans, lighter fluid, and lighters into a cathedral in New York City just days after the Notre Dame cathedral in France was partially consumed by an inferno had booked a one-way flight to Rome, authorities said.

Marc Lamparello, 37, was set to fly from Newark Liberty International Airport outside of the city to Italy on April 18.

He was arrested at St. Patrick’s Cathedral with the gas and other items on Wednesday night, approximately 24 hours before his flight was scheduled to depart.

NYPD Deputy Commissioner John Miller said that Lamparello booked a one-way flight to Europe for approximately $2,800. It wasn’t clear if he told officers what his plans were. Asked if Lamparello indicated what he planned to do in Rome, reported the Associated Press, Miller said, “I’m not going to get into that right now.”


Marc Lamparello, 37, center, is escorted out of a police precinct in New York on, April 18, 2019. Police say Lamparello was arrested after entering St. Patrick’s Cathedral Wednesday night in New York with two cans of gasoline, lighter fluid, and butane lighters. Lamparello is facing charges including attempted arson and reckless endangerment. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)


Lamparello was also arrested just two days before being detained in New York when he refused to leave the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey.

Lamparello arrived at the cathedral at about 10 p.m. on Monday, removed his hat, blessed himself, and sat in one of the front pews, Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura told the North Jersey Record.

When officers approached Lamparello later that night, he refused to leave despite repeated requests.

An assistant bishop and a priest even held special prayers with the man to try to satisfy him, but he still refused to leave, throwing himself on the floor and telling officers the only way he was leaving was if he was arrested. He was charged with trespassing, resisting arrest, and obstructing the administration of law. He’s due in court for that case on May 1.


The lighters, lighter fluid, and gas cans that police said Marc Lamparello brought into St. Patrick’s Cathedral in the Manhattan borough of New York City on April 17, 2019. (NYPD)

Lamparello taught two philosophy classes at Seton Hall University in recent semesters, including Philosophy 1105, Ethics for the Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters, according to records obtained by The Setonian. He was a part-time adjunct professor at the university.

The professor had two sections he was supposed to teach on Wednesday night, but he sent an email canceling class, claiming he had an “unforeseen illness.”

Lamparello has since been fired.

“Although Marc Lamparello had an appointment as a part-time adjunct instructor at Seton Hall for the Spring 2019 semester, he is no longer working at the University. Seton Hall’s top priority is the education and welfare of our students and the entire campus community,” Laurie Pine, Seton Hall’s director of media relations, said in a statement.

Lehman College also said that it was firing Lamparello, saying he had been teaching an online course this semester.

According to a church bulletin (pdf), Lamparello was at one point the music director at St. Joseph’s Church in East Rutherford, New Jersey, through at least 2013.


A larger-than-usual security presence is seen at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, Thursday, April 18, 2019. A New Jersey man was arrested Wednesday night, after entering the cathedral carrying two cans of gasoline, lighter fluid and butane lighters, the New York Police Department said, just days after flames ravaged the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)


He has authored at least one book — “Reason and Counterpoint” — published in 2014. According to the author bio, Lamparello, a native of New Jersey, studied philosophy at Boston College and graduated in 2004.

“Marc has been heavily engaged in the study of philosophy from an early age, and is currently working on two other book-length projects, including a witty dialogue on arguments for and against the existence of God, and a series of essays on the epistemology of practical motivation,” it stated.

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Police said Lamparello pulled up to St. Patrick’s on Wednesday night and walked around the area for some time before walking into the cathedral with the gas, lighter fluid, and lighters.

“As he enters the cathedral he is confronted by a cathedral security officer who asks him where he’s going, informs him he can’t proceed into the cathedral carrying these things. At this point some gasoline is spilled onto the floor as he turns around,” Miller said at a press conference.

“His answers were inconsistent and evasive although he remained conversational and cooperative. His basic idea was that he was cutting through the cathedral to get to Madison Avenue and his car was out of gas. We looked at the car and it was not out of gas. At that point, he was taken into custody.”





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