The brother of the suspect in four 2019 arsons involving Jewish facilities in the Boston area pleaded not guilty Thursday in federal court to charges of obstructing an investigation.
Alexander Giannakakis, 37, formerly of Quincy, Massachusetts, was working as a security guard at the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, when he was arrested by Swedish authorities in 2022 and was recently extradited.
Giannakakis is scheduled to return to court on February 22.
Rhode Island man charged with arson at black majority church
Giannakakis’ brother was hospitalized in a coma when he was identified as a suspect in February 2020 and died the same year. Federal authorities have not released his name.
The man whose brother died after being accused of setting fires to Jewish institutions in the Boston area has pleaded not guilty to charges of obstruction.
Giannakakis was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston in 2019 on charges of making false statements related to domestic terrorism. He falsifies material facts in matters involving domestic terrorism. Concealment of records in federal investigations. Tampering with documents. and tampering with official procedures.
Giannakakis was convicted in Sweden of illegally possessing firearms and other weapons. He served time in a Swedish prison, and his sentence ended in December. The Swedish government granted the U.S. extradition request on Dec. 21, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to the indictment, Giannakakis’ brother was the prime suspect in the investigation of four fires at Jewish institutions in the Boston area around February 2020.
The first incident occurred on May 11, 2019 at the Chabad Center in Arlington. The second time was on May 16, 2019 at the same location. The third time was at the Chabad Center in Needham. The fourth time was on May 26, 2019, at a Jewish business in Chelsea.
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The charges of making a false statement in a matter related to domestic terrorism and the charges of falsifying, concealing, or concealing material facts in a matter related to domestic terrorism are punishable by up to eight years in prison. Each of the charges of concealing records in a federal investigation, falsifying documents or property, and tampering with an official proceeding carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
