NJ man sentenced for three offenses, two arsons, against realtor

HOLMDEL — A former township man will spend a decade in prison thanks to two consecutive five-year sentences announced Friday, following a July conviction on charges related to three separate incidents at two locations of a realty business within a 10-month period.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office said in a release that Leonard J. Mazzarisi III, 32, will first serve five years in New Jersey State Prison for second-degree aggravated arson, followed by another five years, including 42 months without parole, for second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

The case against Mazzarisi began to take shape in Holmdel on Aug. 19, 2017, according to prosecutors, when they and township police determined that a fire that damaged the rear of the Neuhaus Realty Agency building on Main Street had been purposefully set two days prior.

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On Jan. 27, 2018, the release said, police responded to a working fire, again at the rear of the same address, which caused extensive damage and was also determined to be arson.

Nearly four months later to the day, on May 29, 2018, the prosecutor's office said police were called to an address on South Holmdel Road, the new location of Neuhaus Realty, on a report of a BB gun being fired into a window.

Surveillance video reviewed by police showed a man firing the weapon, then leaving the scene in a vehicle matching the description of one seen in the January 2018 arson.

Investigators determined that man to be Mazzarisi, who was arrested in Virginia on May 30, 2018 and extradited back to New Jersey the following month.

Patrick Lavery is New Jersey 101.5's afternoon news anchor. Follow him on Twitter @plavery1015 or email patrick.lavery@townsquaremedia.com.

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