Burn Boston Burn-The Largest Arson Case in the History of the Country is an astounding true crime narration. A conspiracy of 9 men, including 3 Boston cops and a Boston firefighter, burned Boston and surrounding communities in the early 1980s due to tax-cutting measures that caused layoffs of hundreds of police and firefighters. Over 2 years, these fire buffs turned arsonists, torched 264 buildings, causing millions of dollars in damages and hundreds of injuries. The city was ablaze with nightly fires, sirens wailing through the streets and people too afraid to sleep. This book interweaves the activities of the arsonists with those of the investigators, the firefighters and the citizens of the area. Readers will shake their heads in disbelief at the brazen and wanton actions of these political terrorists.
The author, now retired ATF Special Agent Wayne Miller, lived this case for three years. A TV cameraman helped break the case when one of the cops waved his gun in the air at a massive fire as if he were at a rodeo. The case included a stolen police car dumped in Boston Harbor, a threat letter consisting of cut-out letters and plans to murder witnesses.
After the Boston Police Officer/arsonist became a witness, ATF utilized 17 undercover contacts to perfect a Federal case. Agent Miller spent innumerable hours with those perpetrators who became Government witnesses. An arsonist's journal provided the basis for chilling insights into their words, actions, and thoughts. Mr. Miller now has regular contact with that arsonist who has provided additional information in support of the book.
Every firefighter who has heard of the story wants to read about it. Also, anyone interested in true crime, investigative procedures, the inner workings of a criminal conspiracy and fires would have strong interests in this book. The case was covered by national media in the early to mid-1980s.
Christian, Paul a.: - "Boston Fire Department Commissioner and Chief of the Department, November 9, 2001 - September 4, 2006; author"
Clark, Mike: - Owner, Mike Clark Designs
Miller, Wayne M.: - Wayne Miller was a Special Agent, Criminal Investigator and Certified Fire Investigator for the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in Boston for 25 years. He has been involved in numerous high profile illegal firearms, bombing and arson cases. As a member of the ATF National Response Team, Mr. Miller responded to several major fire and explosion incidents. During his public and private career, he examined more than 2,300 fire and explosion scenes plus provided expert testimony in numerous Federal and State courts. Mr. Miller has been a member of the International Association of Arson Investigators since 1984 and has held numerous positions within the MA Chapter of the IAAI. Besides teaching fire investigation as an Adjunct Professor at Cape Cod Community College for 2 semesters, he has been a speaker on fire-related topics over 80 times throughout the United States and in Canada. Burn Boston Burn is Mr. Miller's first boo.
