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Associated Press
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Thursday, February 25, 2021
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Two brothers admitted in court Thursday to setting fire to their hookah lounge as they struggled with business losses, causing more than $20 million in damages to a retail block in the city’s historic area.
Federal prosecutors say 32-year-old Imad Dawara, of Swarthmore, and 40-year-old Bahaa Dawara, of Woodlyn, had taken out $750,000 in insurance weeks before the blaze.
The February 2018 fire burned for nine hours and left the block of restaurants, retail stores and apartments in Old City shuttered for months. Approximately 160 people were displaced, and a few of the businesses never reopened.