The arsonists were conspiring with John Magno, co-owner of the store, who desired to destroy the struggling business to collect a fraudulent insurance claim and clear the site for construction of a condominium development.
Woodbine Building Supply was a hardware store on Toronto's east-end Danforth Avenue owned by Magno with his two brothers, Frank and Carlo, and started by their father years before.
For several years the company had struggled to compete with a nearby Home Depot, and its owners had frequent disputes with local residents; it had been fined $11,800 for improper storage of materials.
A local demolition company quoted $145,000 to demolish the store and clear the lot, which was rejected by Woodbine Building Supply's owners.
They chose Christmas Eve to start the fire because they believed Italians and Greeks living in the area would largely be in church for midnight mass.
[3] At one point one of the men dropped a cash register in the parking lot, the noise attracting the attention of neighbours; Jason Regaldo then left in one of the vans.
Investigators believe that the inexperienced arsonists failed to start a fire on their first try, and on trying again accidentally ignited flammable vapours which had built up in the building's basement.
In March 2005, he admitted his involvement in the scheme, and in a plea bargain pleaded guilty to manslaughter and arson in exchange for the Crown dropping second-degree murder charges.
[19] Jason Regaldo was a friend of Jarcevic, McMaster and Paskalis who agreed to store merchandise from Woodbine Building Supply which the arsonists removed as payment for setting the fire.
On the night of the fire, Regaldo helped others remove merchandise from the store but fled after a cash register was dropped in the parking lot, attracting attention from neighbours.
While many residents initially welcomed the development of the empty lot which had been idle since the explosion,[22] construction caused damage to surrounding properties which once again led to disputes with neighbours.