In a verdict that shocked the Indian community, Aakash Dalal and Anthony Graziano, both 24, were sentenced to 35 years in prison.
A 12-member jury at the County Court in Hackensack, New Jersey had found Dalal, guilty of 17 charges including terrorism for vandalizing and firebombing North Jersey synagogues, five years ago. Graziano was found guilty of terrorism and 19 other counts.
The two were convicted last year of spray-painting anti-Semitic graffiti at synagogues in Maywood and Hackensack, attempting to burn down synagogues in Paramus and Rutherford and throwing Molotov cocktails into the Rutherford home of a rabbi from December 2011 to January 2012, northjersey.com reported
The two were sentenced together because they worked as partners, said Brian Sinclair, an assistant Bergen County prosecutor. ‘They saw the world with the same set of eyes. They saw Jewish people not as people but as subhuman and like reptiles. They were partners in hate, intimidation and crime,’ he told northjersey.com
Akash, the only child of Adarsh Dalal and his wife Harsha did not show any emotion at the verdict.
“We did not expect such a verdict for a prank committed by two teens. Akash was far away when Graziano threw the Mololtov cocktail to a synagogue. Yet he was convicted of terrorism based on instant messages and chats. It is really sad,†Hiren Gandhi, a spokesperson for the family noted when Dalal was found guilty in December last year.
Legal experts then said that the judge has to follow the jury decision and sentencing guidelines and cannot exercise much discretion.
Dalal was charged with 20-counts including terrorism, bias intimidation, aggravated arson, conspiracy to commit arson and hindering. He was acquitted of two charges of hindering his apprehension by destroying computer data or messages and also the charge of conspiracy to commit arson at one synagogue.
After the verdict in December, the judge revoked his $3million bail for Dalal on the request of Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Kearney, since he cannot be out for a long time anyway.
The original charges alleged Dalal and Graziano with spray painting anti-Semitic graffiti at temples in Maywood and Hackensack and attempting to burn down others in Paramus and in Rutherford, where a rabbi and his family awoke to flames spread by Molotov cocktails.
But Dalal’s attorneys pointed out that he has not committed any crime and at best he could be a witness in the firebombing case, as he was far away when it happened. They also noted that the correspondence between the two were mainly fantasy. Dalal, physically a small guy, could not withstand the pressure of the interrogation of police officers, yet he clearly said he did not hate Jews and he had Jewish friends, they noted.
The prosecution portrayed him as the mastermind of terrorist attacks on Jewish synagogues. They termed his accomplice Graziano as only a foot soldier obeying the commands of Dalal. They showed email or instant messages to prove the claim.
The jury declared Dalal guilty of two counts criminal mischief with bias intimidation at the synagogues in Maywood and Hackensack for spray painting swastikas ‘Jews Did 9/11’ and other anti-Semitic graffiti.
He was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit arson, attempted arson, bias intimidation, possession of a weapon and possession of a destructive device for a failed arson attempt at the Jewish Community Center in Paramus, though he was not present at the scene.
Jurors also found Dalal guilty for conspiracy to commit arson, bias intimidation, possession of a weapon and possession of a destructive device firebombing of the synagogue in Rutherford, where eight people were sleeping. Dalal was not present here too.
The charge of terrorism is based on this incident which carries a sentence of 30 years to life in prison.
The instant messages between the two showed hatred for Jews, Dalal persuading Graziano to attack the synagogues and how to make Molotov cocktails.
In one message Dalal told Graziano, ‘I don’t trust you until you kill a Jew,’ and in another he declares that he will be fuehrer one day.
The Indian community attended the court proceedings in large numbers during the five week trial.
Dalal still faces another case for plotting from jail to kill assistant prosecutor Martin Delaney who was investigating the firebombing of synagogues.
The Indian community had organized a protest rally in Trenton, the capital of New Jersey in 2014 against the delay in sending the case for trial.
