Route 17 Shopping Center Fires Set By Rockland Man: Bergen Prosecutor

Back-to-back fires behind two Ramsey shopping centers were deliberately set by an unemployed Rockland man, authorities charged.

Nicholas Todaro
Photo Credit: *Ramsey Rescue / BCJ (inset)*

Jerry DeMarco

01/25/2024 11:02 a.m.

Nicholas Todaro, 37, of Orangeburg ignited the first one in a wooded area behind the Spring Street shopping center just off northbound Route 17 shortly after 6:30 p.m. Jan. 5, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.

Roughly 20 minutes later, he set a second fire in a wooded area behind the Interstate Shopping Center nearly a mile down the road on the highway’s southbound side, the prosecutor said.

Ramsey firefighters quickly doused both blazes, Musella said.

Todaro was arrested on Wednesday, Jan. 24, on aggravated arson and arson charges. He was sent to the Bergen County Jail, where he remained Thursday pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.

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