A 19-state alarm was issued today for Thomas Rupport, 17-year-old high school student and Youth Corps worker accused last night of having started the fire last month in the Yonkers Jewish Community Center which cost the lives of nine children and three adults.
Yonkers detectives said that after a lengthy investigation they were convinced that the youth had started the fatal blaze for a thrill. City Judge John Couzens issued a warrant accusing the missing youth of first-degree arson. The youth had been under orders to report to Westchester County Family Court for further questioning but that he did not appear. His parents said they did not know his whereabouts.
Officials said that, as a Youth Corps worker, he had been given a part-time job at the Center consisting of light janitor work, and that he had been working in the Center on the night of the fatal fire.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
