UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J. — Three New Jersey men have been arrested and charged in connection with an alleged arson-for-hire scheme involving a residential fire that engulfed a home on Lake Road in Upper Saddle River in May 2025, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced.
Source: Englebrook Independent News — Three Charged Following Bergen County Arson Investigation
Prosecutors allege that homeowner Emad E. Gerges, 66, of Upper Saddle River, hired Anthony V. Coviello, 54, and Joseph Vulpis, 62, both of Rumson, to deliberately set the fire. Investigators allege Coviello and Vulpis entered the home on May 16, 2025, and used an accelerant and a homemade igniter to set fire to the attic.
Source: Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect — Prosecutor: Two Rumson Men Arrested on 2025 Arson-For-Hire Charges
The fire was reported at about 2:23 p.m. on May 16, 2025. Upper Saddle River firefighters, with mutual aid from neighbouring departments, extinguished the blaze, and fire investigators initially classified its cause and origin as undetermined, according to the prosecutor's office.
Source: Englebrook Independent News — Three Charged Following Bergen County Arson Investigation
The case reopened on April 27, 2026, when the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Arson Squad received information from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and the Rumson Police Department. Detectives then ran a joint investigation with the Upper Saddle River Police Department.
Source: Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect — Prosecutor: Two Rumson Men Arrested on 2025 Arson-For-Hire Charges
Coviello was arrested at his Rumson home on October 2, 2026, and Vulpis surrendered the same day at the Englishtown Police Department, prosecutors said. Both were charged with first-degree arson for hire, second-degree aggravated arson and conspiracy, third-degree arson and criminal mischief, and fourth-degree failure to control or report a fire. Gerges was arrested on October 16 and charged with first-degree arson for hire and second-degree conspiracy to commit aggravated arson.
Source: Englebrook Independent News — Three Charged Following Bergen County Arson Investigation
All three men were remanded to the Bergen County Jail, appeared in Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack, and were released pending further court proceedings. Prosecutors have not disclosed an alleged motive or the alleged payment. The charges are accusations only, and all three defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Source: Englebrook Independent News — Three Charged Following Bergen County Arson Investigation