Cops arrest alleged arsonist who killed subway conductor in March
The man suspected of setting the March 27 subway fire that killed MTA motorman Garrett Goble in March has been arrested and charged with murder, cops said.
Nathaniel Avinger, 50, was busted early Friday morning — more than nine months after allegedly torched a shopping cart on a No. 2 train as it made its way through Harlem. The inferno killed Goble, 36, and injured 16 others.
“[New York City Transit] has grieved and mourned Garrett Goble every single day for the last 9 months,” Interim Transit President Sarah Feinberg said in a statement cheering the arrest.
“We are grateful to the police for their relentless persistence and hard work on this case.”
Avinger, who lives in in the Bronx, was initially questioned by cops just days after the tragedy, The Post reported. He was picked up Friday on forcible touching charges, sources said.
The tragic blaze came in the depths of New York City’s COVID-19 crisis — as of transit workers contracted the deadly respiratory disease by the thousands. The virus has killed more than 130 MTA workers, according to official figures.
Goble — a married father of a 5-month-old baby and a 10-year-old son, and a six-year MTA employee — was hailed as a hero for dying in the line of duty.
“He was starting a whole new career. He was family, and now it’s over. It’s over just like that,” union chief Tony Utano told reporters at the time.
Speaking to The City in June, Delilah Goble expressed frustration that cops had yet to make an arrest in her husband’s death.
“I’m still trying to piece it together,” Goble told the outlet.
“I find it hard to accept that even during a pandemic, that there were people out there setting fires. That just blows my mind.”
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