Arson Arrests Made in Croydon Mansion Fire

Three men were charged with arson and related offenses in connection to an arson that took place at the Croydon Mansion in February, according to Bensalem police.

On Tuesday, April 9, Bensalem Police formally charged the three Levittown men, who had been in police custody since the end of February after being arrested for an alleged armed robbery in Bristol Township, according to Sgt. Andrew Aninsman of the Bensalem Township Police Department.

Dennis Rose III, 19, of Flame Hill Rd. in Levittown; Michael Kurfuss, 19, of Ruby Ln. in Levittown; and Nicholas Ricciardi, 21, who is a Bristol Township volunteer firefighter from Idlewood Rd. in Levittown were video arraigned by Judge Leonard J. Brown, police said. Bail was set at $200,000.

On Feb. 22, 2013 around 12:25 p.m., Bensalem Police and assisting fire departments responded to a report of a dwelling fire at the Croydon Mansion, a 237-year-old historic site located on the 1200 block of Gibson Road, police said.

The fire caused substantial damage to the building, but no injuries were reported as a result of the fire.

The Bensalem Fire Department classified the fire as an arson, and a joint investigation expanded to include Bristol Township Police that found that Rose, Kurfuss and Ricciardi broke into the building and "deliberately set the fire with the intent to destroy" the mansion, Aninsman said.

The three men are a part of a group that call themselves Black Flag Family, he said.