Appeals court upholds conviction in Orange County restaurant arson scheme

Burning down Andiamo’s Restaurant at 5025 Route 9W to collect insurance money is what kept Zef Gjurashaj in prison after a state appeals court upheld his Orange County conviction.

The Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed the judgment in People v. Gjurashaj on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, leaving intact the jury’s verdict and the 22 1/3 years to life sentence imposed March 1, 2023. The court rejected the argument that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence and found the sentence was not excessive, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

The case reached that point after a fire on September 6, 2017, that prosecutors said was no accident but a planned arson-for-profit scheme. Gjurashaj was convicted after a September 2022 jury trial of arson in the first degree, conspiracy in the second degree, reckless endangerment, insurance fraud and criminal tax fraud. The indictment came in December 2021, more than four years after the blaze, keeping the case alive long after the flames were out.

Prosecutors said Gjurashaj and a co-defendant decided the restaurant was failing and conspired to torch it for a payout. They said he instructed his nephew’s wife on how to set the fire, including removing a plug from a propane line valve in the kitchen and lighting a flammable liquid on the floor. The District Attorney’s Office said that conduct put first responders and Gjurashaj’s wife, who was present, at grave risk of death.

Marina Gjurashaj pleaded guilty to arson in the third degree and conspiracy in the fourth degree and later testified against him under a plea agreement. Prosecutors also said Zef Gjurashaj exploited her immigration status and history as a domestic violence victim to pressure her into helping carry out the fire.

The investigation stretched well beyond the Town of Newburgh Police, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the New York State Department of Financial Services, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. In 2023, assistant district attorney Stewart Rosenwasser and investigator Vincent Spampinato were honored by the Detectives Crime Clinic for Metropolitan New Jersey and New York for their work on the case.

For Orange County restaurant owners, insurers and prosecutors, the ruling is a reminder that arson-for-profit cases can carry decades-long prison terms when they endanger lives and threaten to spread financial losses far beyond one burned building.