Prosecutors Allege Developer Arranged Arson Of Failed Development

A millionaire developer and restaurateur masterminded the deliberate burning of a home being built in a small, upscale neighborhood in Brookline two years ago, authorities said Tuesday, in an insurance scam that severely injured another man.
Alan Kaplan had complained that “he was sitting on about a million dollars” before persuading a local handyman to set fire to a failed development under construction in July 2013 so that he could collect the insurance payment, Assistant Norfolk District Attorney Carolyn L. Hely said in court at Kaplan’s arraignment on the arson charges Tuesday.