Brookline Arson: Verdict In Alan Kaplan Case

BROOKLINE, MA — Four years after a blaze destroyed a home on Spooner Road and made headlines as the worst in recent memory, casting suspicion on the Village Smokehouse's Alan Kaplan as possibly the one who ordered it to go up in flames, he was found not guilty on both of the arson charges he faced in court Monday, December 3.

Kaplan was found not guilty on one count of arson of a building and not guilty on the one count of burning of a building to defraud an insurance agency.

The courtroom was packed with family, friends and others watching the closing remarks Monday at the arson trial. At one time Kaplan's daughter who lives with him became visibly upset, wiping away tears. But by the end of the day, she wasn't the only one with tears in her eyes. Kaplan eyes filled slightly as this reporter asked about what was next for him.

The trial kicked off November 16. The central question? Did Kaplan a life-long Brookline resident, friend to the police officers and fire fighters he grew up with in town mastermind the arson of a controversial building under construction in 2013 in an attempt to get $1 million insurance money?

The backstory

Kaplan was among three men who bought 81 Spooner Road under an LLC in 2004. The trio intended to fix and sell the house, divvying up the parcels, build a second house and sell that one, too. After selling the first house and starting to build the second, the process ran into problems. Neighbors weren't happy, the Town got involved, and there was litigation.

It turned out the house under construction was too big for the Chestnut Hill lot. The construction stopped after the house was framed, while litigation went on until the end of 2012. After twice going to the highest court in Massachusetts, that court ordered the LLC to tear down the house.

Shortly after, the house went up in flames. A man showed up at an area hospital with burns and was later convicted of setting the fire. He says he set it for Kaplan after a couple of meetings with Kaplan who he knew to be generous with his money and for whom he'd done handyman work for in the past. Although he said Kaplan never explicitly told him what reward would come his way, he figured he would share some of the insurance money from the fire that he said Kaplan had mentioned, he told the court.

Star witness for the prosecution

As part of a plea exchange, Steven McCann, the man who set the fire, became the star witness for the prosecution.

The prosecutor Carolyn Hely, argued that McCann was the perfect candidate to set the fire between his addiction to Adderall, character flaws and dire straights. Who would believe him against the townie with influential friends if things went wrong? She asked.

Hely was up against and Defense Attorney Max Stern. Stern was named as one of the "25 Most Influential Massachusetts Lawyers" of the preceding quarter century in 1995, by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Following the collapse of the fatal collapse of the "Big Dig" tunnel, he was co-lead counsel in the defense of a product supplier charged with manslaughter in connection with the 2006 collapse.

In his closing remarks, Stern painted McCann as completely unreliable. And that, he told Patch was the crux of the case.

"He is a total and pathological liar," said Stern to the jury. He argued that Kaplan had no reason to set the fire, citing no actual insurance benefit (though Hely noted there was an attempt to file a claim) and his relationship to members of Brookline Police and Fire departments.

"Would he want to put them in harm's way?" he asked.

The prosecutor asked the jury to consider the evidence they had even without McCann's testimony.

"This case is not about Steven McCann who set this fire. It's about this piece of property at Spooner Road in Brookline, it's about the LLC it's about connections and it's about money... and the defendant Alan Kaplan - smokehouse Alan - is the money guy at Spooner Road LLC," said Hely.

Not guilty

Kaplan did not take the stand during the trial, but the judge pointed out that because he is presumed innocent he does not have to. Kaplan was indicted on one count of arson of a building. He was also charged with burning of a building to defraud an insurance agency in the July 26, 2013 Spooner Road fire.

He pleaded not guilty to both.

The state legislature defines arson as whoever willfully and maliciously sets fire to burns or causes to be burned or whoever aids councils or procures for the building of a building, whether the property is his own or another's.

The judge instructed the 12 jurors at Dedham Superior Court to come to a unanimous decision at the conclusion of the trial just before noon. It was incumbent upon the Commonwealth to prove that Kaplan was guilty beyond reasonable doubt, he reminded jurors.

Four hours later, the jury was back with their decision. Not guilty on both counts.

Friends and family slapped backs and hugged Kaplan following news of the verdict. Many family members were in tears, and told Patch they felt relieved.

"I knew he was innocent all along," said PJ Vanderydt, who came down to watch the trial. "I've known Alan my whole life, he's a true friend, a true family man: Just a great guy."

Previously on Patch:

Brookline Arson: Former Owner Of Village Smokehouse On Trial

Brookline Developer Charged with Torching His Own Property

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Photos by Jenna Fisher/ Patch