Thirty Years Later, Kid Who Burned Down Fort Hunt High Checks In With City Desk
Matt Musolino, a former Fort Hunt High football star and one of the three kids convicted of burning down that Alexandria high school 30 years ago, checked in with Cheap Seats Daily a couple times while I was on vacation.
He wasn't happy.
I had written about the recent reunion of his mates from the Fort Hunt Class of '79, the ones he made refugees for half their senior year by torching their school building over Christmas break.
Musolino didn't show up for the get-together. I wondered in print if burning down your school your senior year means you can't go to future class reunions.
But I spoke with him by phone over the Labor Day weekend from Virginia Beach, where he now runs a stone company.
He told me he stayed away from the Fort Hunt reunion for economic and logistic reasons, not because he burned down the school. Had he shown, his classmates would have welcomed him back, he insisted.
"I got 30 employees, and my kids," he said. "I wanted to go, but I couldn't go. But I got 10 calls from Fort Hunt people wondering why I wasn't there."
I had written that Musolino, who plead guilty to arson charges, told investigators and the Washington Post after the school burning that he had supplied the gasoline from his father's service station on Route 1 to stock the firebombs. During our conversation, Musolino started to argue that my post distorted his role in the fire that destroyed the school.
"I wasn't even around to see the fire, did you know that?" he said.
But Musolino backed away from that line of attack quickly, saying there was no reason to "look back."
But isn't looking back what class reunions are all about? And though I'd never met Musolino, having grown up in Northern Virginia at the same time, I've remembered the destruction of Fort Hunt and ensuing investigations as being among the biggest scandals of my adolescence. Since Musolino was a star fullback on one of the strongest teams in the area that year, he was the highest profile of the kids fingered in the fire. I told him I'm still intrigued by that case.
He told me I should let it go and hung up.
11:43 am
I would have gone to Fort Hunt HS, but my parents moved and I went to Mt Vernon HS instead the year of the fire. I will never forget the terrible destruction that these three vandals caused. We had to share our school for an entire year with the Fort Hunt students, they were split up between a couple of high schools to finish the year out. I had a lot of friends that went to Ft Hunt. I can't imagine that Musolino would be welcomed to their high school reunion. I hope he is still paying retribution for all the damage caused. Sounds like he still doesn't want to take any responsibility for his part. Some things don't change.
8:28 pm
Deanna,
You are wrong. Things do change and people grow up and mature. There would be no reason for us not to welcome our classmate to the reunion. What happened from the fire taught us to lean on each other for strength. Some people spend a lifetime and never feel that. It sounds like you haven't. What a shame.
3:56 pm
Patti, you are wrong, sure, things change. all she was saying is that this guy apprently ha snot. hard to argue with that, he showed no sensitivity at all to that. I would welcome him but only to see what he is like now and give him a chance to apologioze for impacting so many people in such a negatvie way. Firebiombing your own school to destroy the records? That was crazy, I rememebr it well.
2:01 pm
Dick, You obviously don't know the details as well as you think. I graduated from that class and I can tell you that was not the reason. I remember it well too.
4:57 pm
I didn't finish my reply so in all fairness please understand that this reporter played "dirty" getting this article. Please go to http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/08/26/cheap-seats-daily-if-you-burn-down-your-high-school-can-you-show-up-at-your-high-school-reunion/ to see how this article was attained. It is poorly written with grammatical and spelling errors. I know he did not quote others in the first article correctly so I highly doubt he did in this one either.
7:57 am
I graduated from FHHS in 1979! And I remember it well too. Matt I would have loved to have seen you again at the reunion. Wish you could have made it last year, it was fun! Glad to see you are doing well. We still have lots of mini reunions so if you are ever up in the area don't hesitate to join in. Go get um Patti! and yes we do stick together.
12:51 am
I was a freshman at FHHS that year, and the story as I remember it was that they yelled "we're going to burn the school down!" as they left the party to do just that. I also thought I heard that Matt got a lesser sentence for rolling over on the other two. Both hearsay but those are my lasting memories. Those and the assembly at the school we shared while they were repairing FH at which they lined up the bags of burned/smoke damaged locker contents on the gym floor like body bags. Creepy.
11:10 pm
none of you where here, but I no you all watched him play football. everybody makes mistakes. they all payed there deit,get a life
MATT'S BROTHER
NICK
10:26 pm
so who told you this story . are that your keeping myth's alive. you need to get you'r own memories
8:35 pm
Let's take the mystery out of this shall we? Here's an old article from Google archives that sheds light on Mr. Musolino's role. Looks like he's not only an arsonist but a fink to boot: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y-NNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mYsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6923,4573380&dq=fort+hunt+high+school+fire&hl=en
2:41 pm
Here's another article from the Washington Post...says the three douche bags who torched the school got four months in jail, fined $10,000 and ordered to community service. Seems like a slap on the hand when you think about all that damage, the heartaches for students, teachers and administrators. Then Musolino gets an attitude with the reporter, telling him it's "old news and to move on?" Some may forgive, but this is the kind of story that you never forget. So if I torch your house down, will you please forgive me in 30 years?
Washington Post: https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0kI9A-IetozMzdjYzNlOTMtNWM0OC00MDJmLTg0MTgtODE5ZDNkNDBlOWM0&hl=en
5:01 pm
I'll bet Matt the Rat "wasn't even around the fire" because human nature tells us he was already in the getaway car hightailing it out of the area. Even that numb nuts was smart enough to know you don't stick around to see what happens when you toss a Molotov cocktail at a $4.5 million building.
2:48 am
11.5 MIILION GETIT RIGHT
12:29 pm
Wow, $11.5 million...thanks for setting the record straight on this senseless act of stupidity. And you paid a $10,0000 fine while the taxpayers picked up the rest of the tab?
8:19 pm
I was a member of the very first freshman class at FHHS and eventually graduated from there in 1967. This Musolino asshole who so callously and effectively helped destroy my alma mater is lower than pond scum. The only reunion he should be welcome to would be at the VA Dept of Corrections .....!
4:02 pm
Sandy, I doubt Musolino would even be welcome to the VA Dept. of Corrections reunion - don't forget prisoners can't stand "rats".