Monroe firefighter accused of torching his recovered SUV

Matthew Bittner Matthew Bittner Photo: Monroe Police Department Photo: Monroe Police Department Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Monroe firefighter accused of torching his recovered SUV 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

MONROE — Rather than exhibiting exuberance when police recovered his stolen sports utility vehicle in Bridgeport, police said a Stepney volunteer firefighter set it on fire and then reported that it had been stolen again.

Police said Matthew Bittner, 38, of 11 Pilgrim Lane, and his buddy, Joseph Bogdanyi, 32, of 115 Squantuck Road in Seymour, torched the SUV because Bittner couldn’t live with the idea the vehicle may have been driven by minorities in Bridgeport.

Bittner, a volunteer fireman, was charged with first-degree arson, conspiracy to commit first-degree arson, tampering with evidence, making a false statement and insurance fraud.

Bogdanyi was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree arson and making a false statement.

Each man later posted $100,000 bonds pending arraignment in Superior Court in Bridgeport on Jan. 2.

On Oct.23 at approximately 12:42am, the Monroe Police Department received a report of a vehicle on fire in the driveway of 35 Corporate Drive in Monroe. Upon arrival, police said officers located a 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe fully engulfed in flames.

Police said the SUV, which was registered to Bittner’s girlfriend, had been reported stolen to the Monroe Police Department on Oct. 21.

The SUV was later recovered by the Bridgeport Police Department on Oct. 22 and released to Bittner. Police said when Bittner was picking up the SUV, he repeatedly told officers that he really didn’t want it any more because of where it had been.

When police said they contacted Bittner after finding the burning SUV, police said Bittner told them that the SUV, which he had stored at his landscaping business in Newtown after he got it back from Bridgeport, must have been stolen a second time.

Bittner later formally reported the vehicle stolen to the Newtown Police Department, police said.

Through an extensive investigation, police said they believe Bittner and Bogdanyi drove the SUV to Corporate Drive, where it was set on fire.

Police said when they later went through Bittner’s phone, they found numerous text messages between him, Bogdanyi and his girlfriend making disparaging, racial comments about Bridgeport residents.

In one of the texts, Bittner suggested that someone should put a wall around Bridgeport “to keep the animals from getting out.”

Bittner is also the owner of MBS Lawn and Tree LLC.