Witness: Reward Swayed Testimony in 1995 Pa. LODDs

A key witness who received reward money after the trial of a man who set a 1995 blaze that killed three Pittsburgh firefighters told a judge Tuesday that the money motivated him to testify but he did not disclose the potential payment at the trial.

Attorneys for Greg Brown Jr., 34, the man convicted of setting the deadly fire on Bricelyn Street in Homewood, are asking the judge to reconsider his case, saying two witnesses' withholding of the payment information violated Mr. Brown's due process rights.

The Valentine's Day blaze killed firefighters Thomas Brooks, 42, Patricia Conroy, 43, and Marc Kolenda, 27. All were trapped in a lower-level family room and died of smoke inhalation.

Mr. Brown, who was 17 at the time, has been in state prison since 1997, serving three consecutive life terms. Defense attorneys David Fawcett and Jason Hazlewood believe the additional evidence entitles him either to have his conviction vacated or a new trial. A post-conviction relief hearing is expected to continue today before Common Pleas Judge Joseph K. Williams III.

Among the witnesses called Tuesday was Ibrahim Abdullah, 31, who at age 15 was bunkmates with Mr. Brown at a youth detention center. He claimed at the trial that he heard Mr. Brown confess to the crime.

On Tuesday, he told the judge he was well aware he would receive reward money for his testimony because his probation officer and an agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told him he would. But when prosecutors asked him at Mr. Brown's trial whether he was promised any financial benefit, he told them no.

"Nobody actually said, 'I promise you this,' " Mr. Abdullah said. "I knew I was going to get it from the very beginning."

ATF agent Jason Wick, he said, approached him in a hallway before he testified at the trial and reminded him that he made no promises concerning the money.

"He never promised me anything," Mr. Abdullah said. "I trusted his word, though."

Mr. Abdullah said he was reluctant to testify at the trial, but the prospect of a payment "highly motivated" him.

Months after the fire, authorities announced a $15,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.

Another witness, Keith Wright, who was a neighbor, came forward to implicate Mr. Brown two months later.

The two witnesses were paid $15,000, according to court records. Mr. Abdullah initially believed he would get the entire amount but ended up with $5,000, he told Judge Williams.

Two of Mr. Abdullah's probation officers also testified Tuesday. One of them said Mr. Abdullah's credibility was questionable. Another testified that his "eyes kind of got bright when he talked about the $15,000 and how it could help his family."

The hearing continues today.

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