Mayor Eric Adams is pushing the feds to charge the sadistic Guatemalan migrant who torched a woman to death on the subway – a move that could mean a harsher sentence.
Federal arson charges against firebug Sebastian Zapete-Calil would be piled on top of local murder and arson charges against the illegal immigrant, who’s already facing at the hands of Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
“Like all New Yorkers, Mayor Adams is deeply disturbed by the heinous and depraved act that Sebastian Zapete-Calil is accused of,” City Hall spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak said.
“Lighting another human being on fire and watching them burn alive reflects a level of evil that cannot be tolerated,” Mamelak added.
“That is why, in coordination with Police Commissioner [Jessica] Tisch, Mayor Adams has directed the NYPD to work within our legal authority and in partnership with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations team to explore criminal charges against Mr. Zapete-Calil under the federal arson statute.”
A conviction under federal law for arson resulting in death could mean a 25-year-to-life sentence.
Federal arson charges for property used in interstate commerce resulting in injury could mean a maximum of 40 years under the law.
Since Zapete-Calil is already facing local charges, negotiations may have to take place to allow the feds instead of the state to proceed with the arson prosecution, sources said.
It may also be easier to prosecute criminal cases under federal law than state law, one former prosecutor said.
“Rules of evidence and discovery are a lot less stringent under federal law than state law,” said James Quinn, the former executive district attorney in the Queens DA’s office, where he served for 42 years.
Zapeta Calil is accused of torching a sleeping woman on an F train on Coney Island Sunday, leaving her body so badly burned that authorities have struggled to identify her after the horrific attack.
Zapeta-Calil had snuck back into the country at some point after he was previously deported, sources had told The Post. The accused firebug first entered the US illegally at the Arizona border in 2018 but was nabbed just days later and shipped back home.
Adams’ statement is the latest sign that Adams is willing to cooperate with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration to crack down on criminal migrants.
