A Calgary Police Service detective told the Round Up he quickly suspected arson was the cause of a fire that destroyed one business and threatened several others in the city.
"Evidence located at the scene clearly indicated the fire was not accidental," said Det. Torrie Killam during a phone interview on Wednesday, April 13.
Although he could not discuss the details of the arson as the case is before the courts, Killam said the cause of the fire was suspicious right from the onset of the investigation. It wasn't a mystery as to how it started, but rather who was behind it, he said.
So police proceeded to pursue the investigation for about eight months, accumulating background information on the business, canvassing the area and speaking with people, he said, adding, "we were able to build a pretty strong case."
The Calgary Police Service Arson Unit has charged two Sundre males in connection with the arson, which occurred last September. At about 2:25 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 6, an alarm was triggered, indicating a break-in at a business called Tail Lights Truck & Auto in a strip mall located in the 6000 block of 6th Street SE. Shortly afterwards, a report of a fire at the same address came in, said police.
The Calgary Fire Department attended the scene and protected neighbouring businesses from further damage. The building was deemed unstable and damage was estimated at $500,000. Following their investigation, authorities charged two of the business's three owners with arson and insurance fraud offences in connection to the fire, said police.
Nicolas Rocco Gallipoli, 28, of Sundre, was charged with arson causing damage to property, arson causing damage to own property and risking others, as well as arson for a fraudulent purpose. His father Mario Rocco Gallipoli, 62, also of Sundre has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000.
"They've been released on their own recognizance with certain conditions," said Killam.
They were scheduled to next appear in Calgary court on Friday, April 29.
Cases of fraudulent arson are not necessarily uncommon, but there's no way to predict them. The detective said he's been asked if such occurrences are related to the economic downturn, but that's impossible to know for certain without a confession from the suspects, he said.
"Without an admission, we often never really know why for sure."
While police can determine what or how something happened through investigation, establishing a motive by getting into a suspect's mindset is not cut and dried, he said.
"I'm not a fortune teller."
Bearing in mind that in Canada it's become pretty much unconstitutional to get a maximum sentence anymore, the criminal code carries a maximum penalty of 14 years for arson damaging property and arson to one's own property risking others. The maximum sentence for arson for fraudulent purposes is 10 years, he said.
