A Massachusetts man has been extradited from Sweden in connection to obstructing an investigation into fires at Jewish institutions in Arlington, Needham and Chelsea in 2019.
37-year-old Alexander Giannakakis, of Quincy, was indicted on charges of making false statements in a matter involving domestic terrorism; falsifying, concealing and covering up a material fact in a matter involving domestic terrorism; concealing records in a federal investigation; tampering with documents and objects; and tampering with an official proceeding.
Giannakakis was arrested in February 2022 in a suburb of Stockholm and extradited to face charges in Boston.
According to the indictment, Giannakakis' brother was the suspect in four fires at:
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- A Chabad Center in Arlington on May 11, 2019 and May 16, 2019
- A Chabad Center in Needham
- A Jewish-affiliated business in Chelsea on May 26, 2019
The indictment says that Giannakakis took his brother's papers and electronic devices to Sweden, made false and misleading statements to investigators and removed physical evidence being sought by investigators.
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His brother was in a coma at the time he was identified in February 2020 until his death later that year.
Giannakakis is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Monday, February 5th.
