Brother of dead suspect in fires at Boston-area Jewish institutions pleads guilty

BOSTON -- The brother of a man suspected in four Boston-area arsons involving Jewish institutions in 2019 pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to charges that he obstructed the investigation.

Alexander Giannakakis, formerly of Quincy, Massachusetts, was working in security at the U.S. embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, when he was arrested by Swedish authorities in 2022.

Giannakakis pleaded guilty to concealing records in a federal investigation, tampering with documents and objects, and tampering with an official proceeding. He is scheduled to be sentenced March 11.

"Alexander Giannakakis chose to destroy evidence and conceal these hate crimes and for deciding to stand on the side of acts of vile Antisemitism, he now stands convicted and awaiting sentencing,” Acting United States Attorney Joshua Levy said in a statement. “It is incumbent on every person in the District of Massachusetts to call out acts of racism and bigotry, and to report hate crimes.”

According to the indictment, around February 2020, Giannakakis’ younger brother became the prime suspect in an investigation into the fires. At the time he was named as a suspect, Giannakakis’ brother was hospitalized in a coma, and he died that year.

The first fire occurred May 11, 2019, at a Chabad Center in Arlington; the second at the same location on May 16, 2019; the third at a Chabad Center in Needham; and the fourth on May 26, 2019, at a Jewish-affiliated business in Chelsea.

Giannakakis was convicted in Sweden of unlawfully possessing a firearm and other weapons. He served a sentence in a Swedish prison that ended in December. He was extradited in February to face the new charges.

Each of the charges carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

An attorney for Giannakakis did not respond to a request for comment.