New York Home Builder Hounded by Arsonist; Fears Attacks Are Racially Motivated
Frightening and suspicious fires in an upscale community. Last month we told you about a developer in Rockland County who claimed local officials were retaliating against him for selling homes to blacks.
Now that builder is the victim of a second suspicious fire in the mountain top village of Pomona. Sarah Wallace joins us now with the story.
Could it be a series of coincidences, or is someone deliberately targeting a local builder who just happens to have made serious allegations against Pomona village officials? That's what investigators, including federal agents, are now trying to determine.
Shari Moody-Dennison, Rockland County Sheriff Investigator: "See the hole right there ... that's where I think they pumped in the liquid ... that's the only hole I can find."
Rockland County Sheriff Investigator Shari Moody-Dennison doesn't yet know what the arsonist used in the middle of the night to torch a commercial building in Pomona, but she is sure of one thing.
Shari Moody-Dennison: "It was designed to cause a large amount of damage to the building. And it just didn't take off as well as the arsonist intended it to take off."
John Lynn, Developer: "The fire started in this back corner here, and as you can see these sprinkler head suppressed the fire, put the fire out. If it wasn't for the sprinkler head, we may have lost the whole entire structure."
John Lynn was lucky this time. He's the owner and builder of the commercial complex, and he put in that sophisticated sprinkler system. Lynn also built a luxury home someone successfully destroyed a few months ago in this mountain top Pomona subdivision.
We followed detective Moody-Dennison as she toured that crime scene.
Shari Moody-Dennison: "Whoever took the house down knew exactly what they were doing. They set the fire in an area that would collapse the entire structure."
Her arson investigation has suddenly expanded, and Federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are now involved.
The bigger question, is it all just coincidence, or is John Lynn a target because of a Federal Lawsuit he's filed against village officials.
John Lynn: "It may be another deliberate attempt to intimidate me and others, because of the situation that's going on."
Lynn, a former police officer, claims in his lawsuit that homes he built for black families in this scenic subdivision ... were subjected to unfair roadblocks by village officials. The builder says when he complained, he ran into obstacles for all his homes under construction. The attorney for the village adamantly denied the charges.
Michael Miranda, Village Attorney: "We're not interested in putting Mr. Lynn out of business. We're interested in him building so that there will not be safety concerns, or eyesores on that mountain."
The attorney also says officials are sorry about the arson fires, but they have nothing to do with the discrimination battle. Lynn is convinced where there's smoke, there's fire. His office is in that commercial complex, the office where he kept all of his files and documents.
John Lynn: "I don't know what's going to happen next. I'm concerned about my family, health and welfare, and myself as well."
Sources are telling us that additional local and state law enforcement agencies may be entering the investigation and that the probe could widen.
John Lynn is offering a $10,000 reward in connection with the arson cases.
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