A California restaurant owner was taken into custody last Tuesday, accused of engaging in insurance fraud, blackmailing his employees, and setting fire to five properties as part of a long-driven scheme against his sister’s ex-husband.
The alleged arsonist, Robert “Bobby” Salazar, 63, runs Bobby Salazar’s Taqueria, with locations throughout Central California. His food products are even available in big retailers like Walmart and Costco.
Yet, his business success seems to have come at a significant personal cost.
Authorities claim Salazar was behind a series of arson incidents at five sites from 2020 to 2024. Federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives linked him to these crimes after investigating the fires.
In a shocking turn, Salazar allegedly hurled Molotov cocktails at both his former brother-in-law’s home and a law firm that represented employees taking legal action against him.
In 2020, he supposedly threw a Molotov cocktail at his sister’s ex-husband’s house shortly after their split. Days later, the ex-husband discovered an unburned cocktail hidden in the bushes near a broken window.
The affidavit reveals Salazar ominously reached out to his former brother, saying something like, “it seems someone has got you.”
A month later, he targeted the law firm with yet another Molotov cocktail, which was allegedly motivated by a former employee’s legal suit for wrongful termination. Interestingly, prior to this attack, Salazar reportedly had given his employees a total of $20,000 to prevent them from suing him.
In another related incident, another employee’s car was mysteriously set ablaze while he was in the process of filing a similar lawsuit. Investigators later concluded that gas had been used to ignite the fire.
In what seems to be a pattern, a year later, the vehicle of a third employee caught fire on the same day Salazar submitted another discrimination lawsuit.
After three years of relative quiet, Salazar supposedly conspired with two associates to burn one of his own restaurants down. The franchisee had already terminated the lease, leaving behind several unused lots.
While insisting the burned location was merely a storage site, Salazar had mysteriously increased his insurance coverage by $100,000 just before the incident.
Investigators uncovered incriminating text messages among suspected accomplices, including a motorcycle club president, with exchanges indicating knowledge of illicit payments: “Yeah, you paid all the money from Bobby F.”
Salazar was released after posting $1 million bail on Friday. He now faces two felony charges related to arson and further accusations may arise as additional illegal firearms were discovered during a home search.
Interestingly, the affidavit notes Salazar’s stark pride in his pyromaniac tendencies, seemingly boasting about his readiness to use fire for his criminal purposes.
He also attempted to influence witnesses, allegedly urging an employee to provide false testimony in exchange for a substantial sum, claiming another former employee was involved with drugs.
