Buffalo, New York: John W. Burns Gets Five Years in Federal Prison for Burning Down the Old Pink

A federal judge in Buffalo has sentenced John W. Burns to five years in prison for burning down the Old Pink, the Allen Street bar that was a fixture of the Allentown neighborhood before a fire destroyed it in June 2024. U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced the sentence on Wednesday. Burns, 42, of Buffalo, was convicted of arson of a building used in interstate commerce, and U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara imposed a term of 60 months in prison.

A confrontation, then a fire

Burns was at the Old Pink earlier in the evening of June 17, 2024, when a man formerly contracted to work security for the bar confronted him after a female patron complained that Burns had touched her inappropriately, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Burns was asked to leave and refused. A fight followed, and the security officer told investigators that Burns said he would be back, that he would burn the place down, and that nobody would have a job.

The Buffalo Fire Department answered a fire at 223 Allen Street in the early morning hours. The building was engulfed in flames and was ultimately destroyed. Fire marshals determined that the fire had been set deliberately. Investigators recovered a blue propane plumbers torch at the rear of the building, and video showed a person near the place where the fire started, wearing a dark jacket with an emblem on the left arm and green and white sneakers. The video also showed the person bringing two white garbage bags to the back of the building and looking through the garbage totes before walking away, a short time before flames became visible.

Texts, identifications and a second fire

The owner of the Essex Street Pub, at 530 Rhode Island Street, identified Burns in the security footage of the Old Pink fight. He knew Burns because he had previously employed him. Two associates of Burns also identified him as the person walking away from the Old Pink shortly after the fire began. One associate gave investigators text messages from the early morning of June 17, 2024, in which Burns described what appeared to be the fight, wrote "Guerrilla mode on" and "Guerrilla BuffL9 is a go," and told the associate to bail him out if he did not call by noon.

On August 13, 2024, at about 6:03 a.m., Burns was seen on video setting a fire in the parking lot of the Essex Street Pub, prosecutors said. The fire began in a pile of books placed near the owner's personal vehicle and was quickly extinguished by firefighters. The owner identified Burns on that video as well, carrying a pile of books toward the rear parking lot, lighting them, and leaving. The owner told investigators he had received a text the night before saying Burns had been denied entry to the pub for disruptive behavior.

Guilty plea and sentence

Burns pleaded guilty to the arson charge earlier this year. Reports of the plea in July said the charge carried a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to 250,000 dollars, and that sentencing was set for October 27, 2026, before Judge Arcara. WIVB reported that he was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday. The Buffalo News reported that letters from his family to the judge described Burns as smart and compassionate, and said alcoholism and mental health problems had changed the man they knew.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard P. Antoine prosecuted the case. The investigation was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with the Erie County District Attorney's office under District Attorney Michael J. Keane, the Buffalo Fire Department under Commissioner Daniel J. Pizarro, and the Buffalo Police Department under Commissioner Erika Shields.