Left Job to Burn Home
Call for Arsonist's Firing by DEP

By REUVEN BLAU

An Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings judge has recommended firing a veteran Watershed Maintainer who left work during his shift to set his house on fire to collect the insurance money.

According to authorities, Randal Licari snuck away during his overnight tour at the Croton Lake Gatehouse Water Supply Facility on Dec. 16, 2002. He later returned to his post and pretended nothing happened, until he got a call notifying him that his house had burned down.

Got Valuables Out Early

The scheme came to light after Mr. Licari's daughter, who also worked for the Department of Environmental Protection, was charged with stealing a laptop from the agency. During that investigation, she blamed her dad and divulged that he had set the fire. A week prior to the fire, Mr. Licari rented a small storage space in Newton, Connecticut, which he used to store valuables that he did not want destroyed by the blaze, authorities said.

The OATH recommendation is purely a technical internal matter because Mr. Licari has already been convicted of arson, larceny and insurance fraud charges related to the incident. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Mr. Licari collected $350,000 in insurance money for his home, the decision noted. After his daughter revealed his alleged scheme, police and department investigators executed a search warrant on his home while he was at work at the Kensington Reservoir on Feb. 14, 2005.

Shook Detective's Tail

As expected, his wife notified him that their home was being searched. Mr. Licari then told his boss that he had to leave work due to a family emergency. But a Detective followed him to the Croton Lake Gatehouse, where he lied and told the officers that he was assigned to do some painting at the facility. Once inside, Mr. Licari loaded his car with material that he had been hiding inside, said the Detective, who lost him after he sped off from the site.

Mr. Licari was also charged with installing and operating two vending machines on department property for more than ten years. He one day appeared at work and installed soda and candy machines outside the Croton Lake Gatehouse, according to the OATH decision.

His supervisors mistakenly assumed that he been directed to put the machines there by someone in the department. After his arrest, the machines were removed and opened. Investigators found money and discovered six doctors' notes inside. Some of the notes had dates and patient names that were covered by white-out, ready to be filled in and photocopied.

Administrative Law Judge Kara J. Miller noted that Mr. Licari was never formally disciplined throughout his 25-year tenure with the department. She added, however, that the city has a longstanding policy of firing employees convicted of a crime of moral turpitude.