A 17-year-old Fresh Meadows teen is looking at 15 years in prison for the arson fire at the Kissena Park golf course – not from jail, but from his own bedroom window.
According to District Attorney Richard A. Brown, Christopher Casella, of 197-01 58th Avenue, was arrested by NYPD Detective Dante Cavallo of the Arson & Explosion Squad on Monday, August 10.
Casella was brought before Judge Lenora Gerald and arraigned on 39 felony counts of arson, each of which carries a 15-year penalty.
“The defendant is charged with setting a fire that caused extensive damage to a recreational facility that serves the community,” Brown said. “The fire could easily have caused serious injuries to responding firefighters or any people who may have been on or around the golf course.”
Although the DA asked that bail be set at $400,000, the judge released Casella in his own recognizance.
“This was no teenage prank,” Brown said. “It is a serious crime that will be dealt with accordingly.”
The two-alarm fire that was allegedly started shortly after midnight on Thursday, June 25, destroyed 38 nearly new golf carts and damaged the club house pro shop of the public course.
Brown alleges that a security video shows Casella and “two unapprehended others” climbing over a fenced-in parking area of the golf course at 164-15 Booth Memorial Avenue.
The videotape allegedly shows the three individuals pouring liquid onto the golf carts, then climbing back over the fence.
At that point, a flame comes over the top of the fence onto the parked golf carts and the entire area goes up in flames.
According to the criminal complaint, an insurance adjuster for the course operator’s insurance company pegged the damage “in excess of $407,000.”
