A "no show" in court: Warrant issued for the arrest of man accused in Glendale arsons

MILWAUKEE COUNTY (WITI) -- A 44-year-old Glendale man -- charged in connection with a rash of fires occurring in the Rivers Edge subdivision has had a warrant issued for his arrest after he failed to show up for his office contact on Friday, August 8th (related to his electronic monitoring) -- and for a court date on Tuesday, August 12th.

Michael Balsamo and his brother, 36-year-old Anthony Balsamo are accused of setting five fires between June 3rd and June 9th -- one in their own backyard.

Michael Balsamo is out on electronic monitoring -- and was supposed to check in on August 8th.

On August 12th, Balsamo's attorney was in court -- but he was not. That's when the court ordered a bench warrant be issued against him.

44-year-old Michael Balsamo faces a felony charge of arson of a property other than a building.

36-year-old Anthony Balsamo faces three misdemeanor counts of negligent handling of burning material.

Police say both of the men live in the Rivers Edge subdivision. They are brothers.

Glendale police were able to identify the men through an extensive investigation of several suspicious fires that occurred in the subdivision.

Police say the brothers set five fires between June 3rd and June 9th -- one of them in their own backyard.

The criminal complaint filed against Michael Balsamo says on June 9th, around 5:00 a.m., police were dispatched to a fire in the 2100 block of West Skyline Road in Glendale.

Upon arriving at the scene, police observed a Jeep on fire.

Police observed a Menards brand paper yard waste bag that was full of leaves under the Jeep -- which appeared to have been set on fire.

The complaint says the Jeep's owner's insurance company determined the Jeep to be a total loss -- and issued a payment in excess of $11,000.

The complaint says police interviewed Michael Balsamo regarding this fire -- and he told them he and his brother, Anthony Balsamo were on their way home from Topper's Pizza on the East Side during the early morning hours of June 9th.

The complaint says Michael Balsamo was driving one car, and Anthony Balsamo was following in another.

The complaint says Michael Balsamo told police he started the Jeep on fire -- using the paper yard waste bag.

The complaint says Michael Balsamo told police he and Anthony Balsamo went home and stood on their porch for awhile -- before driving back past the Jeep.

Then, Michael Balsamo says the two went home and went to bed, according to the complaint.

FOX6 News spoke with Carla Schumann, who lives in the subdivision and saw this fire.

"The neighbors were telling us that there's an arsonist. The car across the street in the driveway was burned to a crisp. We thought this was a fairy safe neighborhood!" Schumann said.

The complaint against Michael Balsamo says he was convicted of a felony offense of retail theft, greater than $5,000 and less than $10,000 in 2010.

Anthony Balsamo has a court date scheduled for August 21st.

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