Sagaponack Man Faces Another Arson Charge

A Sagaponack man accused of trying to burn down a $34 million Bridgehampton house in April is facing more charges. A grand jury indicted David Osiecki on Dec. 15 for allegedly committing the same act at a Patchogue bar five months earlier, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas J. Spota’s office announced Monday.

Mr. Osiecki, 65, set fire to Off Key Tiki Bar on Baker Place in Patchogue late last year, the D.A.’s office said. “An investigation found that Osiecki, after an argument with the owner of the establishment, used his cigar to start a decorative bale of hay afire after the bar closed on Nov. 3, 2013. No one was injured and the fire caused major damage to the building,” Robert Clifford, a spokesman for Mr. Spota, said in an email Monday.

Indicted on a third-degree arson charge, Mr. Osiecki pleaded not guilty. Acting State Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho, seated in Central Islip, ordered Mr. Osiecki held without the possibility of bail.

Mr. Osiecki is already being held at the county jail in lieu of $250,000 cash bail since his arrest on felony arson just hours after the fire in Bridgehampton on April 19.

He allegedly confessed to setting the blaze, which caused severe damage to a Dune Road house owned by Ziel Feldman, an acquaintance. Southampton Town Justice Andrea H. Schiavoni, whom he had initially appeared before, was concerned that Mr. Osiecki did not understand what was going on during his arraignment and ordered a psychiatric evaluation. Doctors found him mentally unfit to stand trial.

Such a determination, according to his then-attorney, Edward Burke Jr., meant that once Mr. Osiecki was indicted by a grand jury he would be turned over to the state for treatment. If at any point he was found competent, the legal process would resume.

He was not indicted until Oct. 2, and the case was transferred to county court. Justice Camacho ordered a new psychiatric examination. On Nov. 13, Justice Camacho was told that Mr. Osiecki was now competent to understand the proceedings, and the legal process once again moved forward.

All along, Suffolk County police had held in abeyance their investigation of the Patchogue fire. Once Mr. Osiecki’s compentency was clarified, the matter was brought before a grand jury.

Mr. Clifford’s statement made clear that while he has been found competent to stand trial, that would not prevent a defense of insanity at the time of the fires. “The finding does not preclude further examination of the defendant to determine whether he was suffering from mental disease or defect at the time of the commission of the crimes,” he said. Mr. Osiecki will be back before Justice Camacho on Feb. 6.