Man behind one of New York City's most infamous crimes dies in prison

Wednesday, September 14, 2016
BRONX, New York (WABC) -- The man convicted in one of the more infamous crimes in New York City history, a Bronx fire that killed 87 people, has died in state prison.

Julio Gonzalez, 61, was serving a 25 years-to-life sentence for setting the March 1990 fire at the Happy Land social club.
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DOCCS Spokesperson Thomas Mailey confirmed that Gonzalez was pronounced dead at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, N.Y.

He appeared to have suffered a heart attack. Mailey said the official cause of death will be determined by the Clinton County Medical Examiner's Office
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Gonzalez was an inmate at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora.

He lost his first bid for parole in 2015, and would have been able to apply again in November.
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