HANSON, Mass. — A retired Boston firefighter has been charged with setting a fire that destroyed an abandoned restaurant in Hanson, according to Plymouth Country District Attorney Timothy Cruz.
Massachusetts State Police arrested Alfred Russo, 75, at his home in Bourne Tuesday afternoon.
Russo was taken to Plymouth District Court where he pleaded not guilty to one count of burning a swelling and two counts of arson causing injuries to a firefighter.
Russo was released on personal recognizance. The judge ordered him to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet until his next court appearance on October 5.
The July 5 fire at the former JJ’s Pub on Liberty Street sent two Hanson firefighters to the hospital for heat exhaustion.
Russo served as a member of the Boston Fire Department from 1969-1995, when he retired as a firefighter assigned to the marine unit.