A letter of condemnation from the Great Barrington Board of Health is taped to one of the doors at 232 Stockbridge Road after a fire this month that police now say was set by the property owner in an attempt to defraud an insurance company. HEATHER BELLOW
THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
GREAT BARRINGTON â It was the silver Prius that made Harry Sano an arson suspect and closed the case for police.
Surveillance cameras from two gas stations and a Goodwill store apparently captured images of a silver Prius heading toward the scene of the fire last month at 232 Stockbridge Road â a building that used to house âWonderful Things,â the eclectic yarn store that he and his wife opened in 1973.
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A Great Barrington, Massachusetts man is facing arson, insurance fraud and other charges after a fire at his business earlier this month.
The Great Barrington Fire Department responded to the fire at the old Wonderful Things gift shop building at 232 Stockbridge Road on the evening of July 7th.
“It was a challenging fire in an old building. We had fire on multiple floors on arrival, which is very manpower intensive, particularly in an old building where fire spreads very fast in old construction with many void spaces- So it was great job by our firefighters to knock the fire down and honestly preserve most of the building, said Fire Chief Charles Burger. We called in the State Fire Marshal s Office to investigate. And they, along with the Great Barrington Police Department, investigated the fire and yesterday they made an arrest of Harry Sano, the owner of the building for arson.”
85-year-old man charged with arson following Great Barrington blaze
Authorities arrested local resident Harry Sano in connection with the incident. By Associated Press
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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. (AP) A Massachusetts man is facing charges of arson and insurance fraud in connection with a fire that consumed a building he owned in Great Barrington.
The building held apartments and a retail shop but was vacant when it went up in flames July 7. Firefighters from three area departments worked to extinguish the blaze.
Great Barrington Police Chief Paul Storti said Thursday that authorities arrested local resident Harry Sano in connection with the incident. Authorities allege the 85-year-old Sano intentionally started the fire and then filed an insurance claim for the damage.
A letter of condemnation from the Great Barrington Board of Health is taped to one of the doors at 232 Stockbridge Road after a fire this month that police now say was set by the property owner in an attempt to defraud an insurance company. HEATHER BELLOW â THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
GREAT BARRINGTON â Police arrested an East Street man Wednesday night for allegedly setting fire to his building to reap an insurance payoff for a property that has been cited for a slew of health violations over the years.
Harry Sano, 85, was released on bail and will be arraigned Monday in Southern Berkshire District Court for arson and related charges that include insurance fraud. The building at 232 Stockbridge Road used to house the shop, Wonderful Things, and has four apartments upstairs that have been under correction orders from the Health Department due to unsafe living conditions.