Arson, Bagels, and the Mob

It wasn't an anti-Muslim hate group that bombed a 24 hour deli owned by Pakistani immigrants in Staten Island after September 11 - it was the mob! The NYPD says that Edward "The Irishman" Fisher firebombed My deli & Grocery because it competed with a mob-protected bagel business nearby (it happens to be owned by a Pakistani immigrant as well). Fisher is supposedly a Gambino family associate, and other crime families were involved as well: My Deli & Grocery owner Hamim Syed was intimidated by members of the Luchese crime family, and Syed later asked for help from a Pakistani businessman with Genovese ties (the Daily News says the businessman "arranged a sitdown with two other gangster at the Hooters" in Staten Island).

Fisher recruited another Gambino associate, Salvatore Palmieri, set the deli on fire and armed him with a devise usually used for fireworks in December 2001. Palmieri torched the place and yelled, "Merry Christmas, Bin Laden!" leading police to initially suspect anti-Muslim sentiment behind the act. No one was injured, but the store had $400,000 worth of damage. Fisher and Palmieri were both indicted; Fisher, a former Department of Sanitation employee, faces 35 years in prison.