Brothers admit to setting 2018 Old City fire that displaced residents, closed businesses
The February 2018 fire burned for nine hours and left the block of restaurants, retail stores and apartments in Old City shuttered for months.
PHILADELPHIA - Two brothers admitted in court Thursday to setting fire to their hookah lounge as they struggled with business losses, causing more than $20 million to a retail block in the city’s historic area.
Federal prosecutors say 32-year-old Imad Dawara, of Swarthmore, and 40-year-old Bahaa Dawara, of Woodlyn, had taken out $750,000 in insurance weeks earlier.
The February 2018 fire burned for nine hours and left the block of restaurants, retail stores and apartments in Old City shuttered for months. Approximately 160 people were displaced, and a few of the businesses never reopened.
The Dawaras, who used gasoline to start the blaze, would serve nine years in prison and pay $22 million in restitution under terms of the plea agreements entered Thursday. Their sentencing is set for June.
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