Danny Barakat admits fire bombing Barone restaurant at Strathfield

Police suspected Danny Barakat had a hand in lighting a fire inside a Strathfield restaurant. But he gave them a very different account of his activities that night when questioned.

A Sydney man accused of firebombing a newly-opened Italian restaurant under the cover of darkness gave police a truly X-rated alibi when questioned about his involvement in the arson attack, a court has heard.

Detectives apprehended Danny Barakat in June 2023, six months after launching an investigation into a suspicious fire that broke out at Barone, an Italian eatery located on The Boulevard at Strathfield and part-owned by Sydney chef Francesco Procopio.

Officers had accused Barakat of joining a second man in smashing a hole through an external glass bathroom door before throwing a metal jerry can and lit butane torch into the small space.

CCTV footage shows the duo, dressed from head to toe in forensic overalls, flee the scene in a stolen BMW as flames gather in the small room.

According to court documents, a witness quickly noticed the blaze and contacted emergency services, who were able to extinguish the fire with minimal damage to the building.

Francesco Procopio, owner of Italian restaurant Barone, which was firebombed on January last year.

Police subsequently issued a public appeal for information over the arson attack and eventually arrested Barakat and his co-accused and charged them with arson-related offences.

The court heard the 41-year-old maintained his innocence when speaking to police, answering “no comment” to most questions.

But when asked to recall his movements that night, he offered up a seemingly-solid alibi — claiming he’d been having sex with his girlfriend at her Earlwood home while high on ecstasy and ice.

Barakat’s lies unravelled a month later, when he got into an argument with the same woman, dousing her in petrol inside a friend’s caravan and threatening her with a blow torch.

Barakat subsequently pleaded guilty to charges of destroying property in company using fire and intentionally damaging property by fire/explosive, as well as intimidation, contravening an apprehended violence order and using an offensive weapon to commit an indictable offence when he appeared in Burwood Local Court earlier this month.

A set of agreed facts tendered to the court reveal the restaurant arson occurred after Barakat decided to take revenge on Mr Procopio over his involvement in a failed business venture with one of Barakat’s friends, Alina Shadrina.

Barakat, pictured, pleaded guilty in Burwood Local Court earlier this month to firebombing the Barone Italian restaurant in Strathfield in January 2023. Picture: Supplied

Neither Mr Procopio nor Ms Shadrina are accused of any wrongdoing, nor is it suggested they were at all aware of Barakat’s criminal conduct.

According to court documents, Mr Procopio had been working with Ms Shadrina to establish a new restaurant called Carpaccio by Francesco in nearby Concord, but the business closed within a week of opening in October 2022 after a falling-out between the pair, resulting in Ms Shadrina losing money.

A still image from CCTV vision of the arson attack. Picture: NSW Police

The court heard Mr Procopio subsequently opened Barone with another business partner in December.

Police claim Barakat became aware of the situation, which the crown claims motivated him to commit the arson.

Barakat will remain behind bars on remand ahead of his sentencing, which is expected to take place in early 2025.