http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/midwest/2007/01/08/fraud/
Ohio Arsonists 'Light Up' in Pool of Gasoline
December 11, 2006

It's not easy being an arsonist. Just ask Musa Shteiwi and his son Essa who had a clear criminal vision for their Steak Thyme Subs eatery: They wanted to torch the West Chester, Ohio food outlet for insurance money. But they lacked a basic job skill: Nobody knew how to set a decent arson fire. Not even their hired arsonist.

After four botched attempts, Musa and Essa never saw a nickel of insurance money. They were dead from a gasoline explosion, and arsonist Joshua Hunter was in jail. Jordanian-born Musa and Essa had promised Hunter a $60,000-dollar-a-year job if he'd burn down the place. Hunter agreed. The hapless torch tried to set three fires over the next six weeks in the summer of 2006, but never figured how to get a good blaze going.

One time he tossed a harmless Molotov cocktail through a window. Another time Hunter doused four chairs with a flammable liquid and set them on fire. The blaze quickly died and caused only minor damage.

Musa and Essa played dumb as word got out about the repeated fires. "I don't know who would do this," Musa told local 9News with a straight face. But they stuck with Hunter despite the screwups, and ordered a fourth blowout just 12 hours after Hunter's hapless assault on the chairs. They decided to make the job so easy that even Hunter couldn't botch it: They went inside and spread gasoline around themselves. Hunter only had to come in later that night and start the fire. But tragically, Musa and Essa had less arson talent than even Hunter: The pair took a smoking break?while standing in a pool of gasoline. They lit up their cigarettes, igniting an explosion that burned both men over 80 percent of their bodies and buckled a wall of the restaurant. They died within weeks. Hunter soon pleaded guilty to his part in the plot, and faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced.

Source: Coalition Against Insurance Fraud

WEST CHESTER TWP. - A restaurant owner and his son - both severely burned in an explosion at the business July 6 - may have been involved in a series of arson attempts on the eatery, police said Thursday in announcing an arrest in the case.

West Chester Twp. police arrested and charged Joshua Hunter, 22, of Xenia, with arson Thursday for breaking a window at Steak Thyme, 8179 Princeton-Glendale Road, and igniting gasoline inside during the early morning hours of July 6. Essa Shteiwi, the son of Steak Thyme owner and Miamisburg resident Musa Shteiwi, hired Hunter to set fire to the restaurant, according to a statement by the West Chester Twp. Police Department.

The early morning July 6 incident was the third arson attempt at the business since May 21, police said. Investigators said earlier this month they believe the same person is responsible for each incident.

The explosion at the restaurant fewer than 12 hours after the third arson attempt, however, was accidental, said West Chester Police Lt. David Tivin. "But we do have information that an arson was going to be carried out later that evening and it was kind of setting the stage for it," he said.

Musa and Essa Shteiwi suffered second-degree burns over 80 percent of their bodies after one of them lit a lighter that ignited fumes from gasoline they were planning to use in another arson attempt later that night, Tivin said.

Hunter was not present when the explosion occurred. But Tivin said he believes Hunter was going to be involved in the next attack.

The father and son were taken to University Hospital in critical condition following the blast. Both remain in intensive care, with Musa Shteiwi still in critical condition and his son showing some improvement, according to a statement released Thursday by the family.

No charges have been filed yet against either of the Shteiwis. "Obviously we want the two victims of the fire to recover as best as they can," Tivin said. "I can't say if there will be charges, it depends on when their conditions improve."

Meanwhile, the family expressed surprise that the father and son could be linked to the crimes in any way, according the statement. "We are stunned and shocked by these allegations," according to the statement. "We want the community to know that we do not believe these allegations. Our main focus is on the recovery of Musa and his son. We hope the community will continue to support and pray for them as well." The family continues to cooperate with authorities, according to the statement.

Tivin has not been able to interview the Shteiwis since the blast and would not speculate on their motive for planning the arson on the restaurant.

Prior to the arrest of Hunter, members of the community speculated about whether or not the attacks against the owner - a Jordanian immigrant - were ethnically motivated. Though Musa Shteiwi is not a Muslim, Karen Dabdoub, a spokeswoman for the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Muslim residents in the area talked to her after the blast and expressed concern that similar attacks could happen again.

"Anytime an attack like this happens, the perception in the Arab and Muslim community is that it is ethnically or religiously motivated," Dabdoub said. "Especially in the absence of perpetrators being caught by law enforcement, that's the fear. Until that (motivation) is discovered, people speculate, rightly or wrongly."

Tivin said investigators considered the possibility of a hate crime, but they had identified a few of the players early in the investigation. "The first knee-jerk reaction is that it was a hate crime," he said. "We never had any indication of that, but we never rule it out until it's totally looked into."

Hunter, who once worked for Shteiwi at another Steak Thyme in Kettering, 4040 Wilmington Pike, is being held in the Butler County Jail on $10,000 bond. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled July 25. He has no prior criminal record.

This report contains information from Local 12 WKRC. Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5127 or cfullam@coxohio.com. Copyright (c)2007 Cox Ohio Publishing, Dayton, Ohio, USA. All rights reserved.

An explosion and fire at a West Chester business that injured three people Thursday night was intentionally set, police told 9News Friday. Investigators are looking into the possibility that the arson was a hate crime, because the business is owned by a Jordanian family.

Thursday night's act is the fourth act of vandalism at Steak Thyme Subs on Princeton-Glendale Road in the past month.

Just before 9 p.m. Thursday, the store's owner, Musa Shteiwi, and his son were working inside the closed restaurant when there was some sort of an explosion. 9News learned the explosion was so intense that it buckled a wall. The two men were injured and ran outside of the strip mall business for help.

One of the victims said a few words to police, who arrived on the scene shortly after the explosion. "He said they were inside and the father was engaged in some activity where there was a match struck or a lighter was lit followed, by an explosion," said Lt. Dave Tivin of the West Chester Police Department. "That's about all we have right now."

The father and son were flown in separate helicopters to the hospital with severe burns covering 80 to 90 percent of their bodies, 9News learned. The third person injured is a female employee of Izzy's, a nearby business. She was taken to the hospital by ground ambulance, treated and released.

Previous acts of vandalism

Wednesday night, someone threw a large moltov-cocktail type device through a window of Steak Thyme Subs. It set fire to several chairs and tables at the sub shop. No money was taken from the register. Because of that vandalism, the restaurant was closed on Thursday as the owners cleaned up the mess.

There were also two previous acts of vandalism at the restaurant, Channel 9's Bill Price reported Thursday evening. "It's certainly very easy to say they're all related. We don't know that at this time. There are many angles to the investigation," said Lt. Tivin.

Channel 9's Bill Price spoke with Shteiwi Thursday afternoon about the previous vandalism at his business. "If someone is trying to shut me out of business, it's not going to happen. This is my life and it's what I've worked for and nobody's going to take that away from me," Shteiwi told 9News.

He had closed the shop after the Wednesday night incident and was presumably working with his son to clean the mess up Thursday night when the explosion happened. Shteiwi planned to reopen the restaurant sometime next week.

RESTAURANT FIRE RESULTS IN MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE.(News)

From: The Cincinnati Post (Cincinnati, OH)

Date: August 15, 2006

HAMILTON -- A Xenia man accused of igniting a fire that later caused an explosion at a West Chester Township restaurant is now facing arson and involuntary manslaughter charges for the death of one of two men burned in the blaze.

A Butler County grand jury on Monday returned a five-count indictment against Joshua Hunter, 22, in connection with a July 6 morning fire and evening explosion that destroyed the Steak Thyme restaurant and severely injured restaurant owner Musa Shteiwi, of Miamisburg and Shteiwi's son, Essa Shteiwi.

Musa Shteiwi died Aug. 4 from his injuries, according to Butler County Prosecutor's Office. Essa ...

Submitted on 12/19/2006

Submitted by: Sharon Sonenstein
Reference: Coalition Against Ins. Fraud, Associated Press http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/midwest/2007/01/08/fraud/
http://www.wcpo.com/news/2006/local/07/06/fire.html (July 6th attempt)

Copyright © 2006 DarwinAwards.com

Graham said:
Definitely Toss: Other
Thanks, Sharon. Sadly, this story was of criminal intent so cannot be considered. Dumbcrooks.com will be all over it, though!

James said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
This one goes just a notch past the usual dumb crook story and is thus worthy of consideration. Considering these mooks actually stood in a puddle of gas while smoking, I am not surprised at the outcome! Send this to DumbCrooks.com as well! It's rare that we get a story fit for both sites! :-)

Jack said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
Criminal intent or not (and we have accepted dumb criminal stories when the other criteria were met), this is an outstanding example of pure stupidity. Thanks for the submission, Sharon.

Chip said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
More than a Dumb Criminal story here! Four tries with the same jamoke and then they decide to help him? Didn't they also realize that so much evidence would be there that no insurance company would be so stupid as to pay? And then of course the standard Darwin formula kicked in: gasoline + flame = award. I think this one. Thanks, Sharon.

The Darwin Awards Gift Shop

The Darwin Awards Condom Keep yourself out of the gene pool! A condom in a matchbook, useful for emergency contraception, bachelor parties, frat parties, and important rites of passage. LOADED inside and out with funny quotes and stories. Everyone loves this item! Friends don't let friends reproduce! $13 for Pack of 4