A man well-known and highly regarded in his New Jersey neighborhood as the "street mayor" was once celebrated for apparently trying to rescue his next-door neighbor from a house fire.

Now, authorities believe he is the one who actually started the blaze.

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William Ahle, 70, has been charged with first-degree murder, first-degree felony murder, first-degree burglary, and second-degree aggravated arson , the Union County Prosecutor's Office announced . He was arrested on Wednesday and placed in the Middlesex County Jail.

In the early hours of July 25, a fire broke out at a home on Kempshall Terrace in Fanwood, a small town in north-central New Jersey.

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