NJ Man Sentenced For Setting Warehouse Fire In Bensalem

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA —A New Jersey man has been sentenced for setting a Bensalem Township warehouse on fire and must pay over $6 million in restitution as well, authorities said.

Ramiz Duka, 62, of Cherry Hill, N.J., was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Court Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge to six years in prison, three years of supervised release, and $6,158,686.84 in restitution for conspiring to commit the arson of the Bucks County warehouse, Acting U.S. Attorney Nelson S.T. Thayer, Jr. announed.

Duka was convicted at trial of conspiracy to commit malicious damage by means of fire of a building used in interstate commerce on Oct. 30.

Authorities said that Duka recruited two men into a conspiracy to set fire to a warehouse located at 1388 Bridgewater Rd., paying them $15,000 to do so. Over several weeks, the three met and planned the arson.

On Dec. 10, 2022, one of the men recruited to the conspiracy by Duka set fire to the building, authorities said.

One firefighter was seriously injured when a ladder collapsed. Damages from the fire totaled nearly $6 million.

“Ramiz Duka orchestrated this arson plot and set it in motion with no regard for the unpredictable nature of fire, the potential for the flames to spread, or the risks facing first responders reporting to fight the blaze,” Thayer said. “Arson endangers lives and communities, and, as this case shows, our office will continue to work with our partners to hold accountable those reckless enough to commit such a serious crime.”

The case was investigated by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Bensalem Police Department.

Bensalem Township Fire Rescue and the volunteer firefighter companies in and around Bensalem responded to the fire.