Rochester Man Pleads Guilty To Arson Charge

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051
 
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Matthew L. Mateo, a/k/a Red, 26, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. to arson of a commercial building. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum penalty of 20 years, a fine of $250,000 or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Marangola, who is handling the case, stated that on September 22, 2013, Mateo and Eddie L. Vaughn, a/k/a Elbow, transported Molotov cocktails to the Miami Deli Grocery at 176 Genesee Street in Rochester. Vaughn broke the store window with a brick. Mateo and Vaughn then lit a Molotov cocktail which Vaughn threw into the store. The Molotov cocktail exploded upon hitting the store floor and spread fire throughout the building. The interior and exterior of the store were burned and extensively damaged.

Vaughn has also been convicted of arson.     

Today’s plea is the culmination of an investigation conducted by the Arson Task Force, which is comprised of Investigators of the Rochester Fire Department, Rochester Police Department, and Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Mateo will be sentenced on March 15, 2016 at 3:30 p.m. before Judge Geraci.  Vaughn is scheduled to be sentenced February 3, 2016 at 3:00 p.m., also before Judge Geraci.