NJ man accused of setting fires at same homes, multiple times

🔸 NJ man faces arson charges

🔸 Crews respond to fires at the same spot 6 times

🔸 Case spans five months

HAZLET — A 49-year-old local man has been accused of setting multiple fires at neighboring properties in Hazlet since December.

Albert Caporaso, of Hazlet, was arrested last week after township police saw him trying to set a storage shed on fire.

Caporaso has been charged with seven counts of second-degree aggravated arson as well as third-degree criminal mischief and fourth-degree resisting arrest.

The investigation began on Dec. 2, 2023, after members of the Hazlet Police Department and local firefighters responded to a pair of structure fires affecting abandoned homes on South Laurel Avenue.

Fires were reported at the same places a week later, and four more times in the following months.

Caporaso was identified as a suspect by members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Monmouth County Fire Marshal’s Office and Hazlet police.

Anyone with additional information about his activities was urged to contact MCPO Detective Michael Donovan III at 800-533-7443 or Hazlet Police Department Detective Russell Surdi at 732-264-0763.

Caporaso was being held at Monmouth County jail pending a court appearance set for Wednesday.

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