GOSHEN- Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced on September 28, 2023, the Detectives Crime Clinic for Metropolitan New Jersey and New York awarded Executive Assistant District Attorney Stewart Rosenwasser with Outstanding Law Enforcement Executive for the investigation and ultimate conviction after the jury trial of Zef Gjurashaj for an arson for profit in the Town of Newburgh. Also receiving an award at the ceremony was Investigator Vincent Spampinato, Criminal Investigator for New York State Department of Financial Services and former Town of Newburgh Detective for his role in the investigation. District Attorney Hoovler had the pleasure of attending the awards ceremony and presenting the awards to Executive Assistant District Attorney Rosenwasser and Investigator Spampinato.
In September, 2022, Zef Gjurashaj was convicted after jury trial in the Orange County Court of all counts considered by the jury, including Arson in the First Degree, Conspiracy in the Second Degree, two counts of Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree, Insurance Fraud in the Second Degree, and Tax Fraud in the Fifth Degree. Gjurashaj was later sentenced to a total of twenty-two and one-third years to life in prison for having burned down his restaurant for profit in 2017. The investigation into the case was conducted by the Town of Newburgh Police, who were assisted in the investigation of the fire by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, New York State Department of Financial Services, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
District Attorney Hoovler thanked the Detective Crimes Clinic for honoring these well-deserved individuals.
“I join the Detectives Crime Clinic in commending the dedicated, hard work of Stewart Rosenwasser and Vincent Spampinato,” said District Attorney David. M. Hoovler. “Arson for profit is, by its nature, an incredibly challenging crime to prosecute because of the complexity of the evidence as well as because, as in this case, the perpetrator often intentionally attempts to destroy any link between themselves and the crime. The tenacity of these investigators, as well as others from multiple agencies, resulted in the just result obtained in this case.”
