WHITE PLAINS – Two men were sentenced in White Plains federal court to prison terms for their roles in a scheme to collect insurance money by torching a building in Swan Lake.
Brothers Nicholas Motta, 43, and Dominic Motta, 59, both of Islandia, New York, were sentenced. Nicholas received 15 months and Dominic 12 months and one day in federal prison. Both men pled guilty last November to attempted mail fraud in connection with the arson and insurance fraud scheme.
A third defendant, Anthony Perso, 32, of Medford, pled guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
According to the allegations and court proceedings, during the early morning hours of February 10, 2010 during a blizzard, a shuttered bar formerly known as Kilcoin’s, was set ablaze and destroyed. Perso was among those who torched the building.
Nicholas and Dominic Motta owned the bar and arranged the arson by having others, including Perso, travel to Sullivan County to set the bar on fire, in order to file the insurance claim.
Dominic Motta deceived the insurance company in an attempt to collect more than $100,000 in damage claims. The insurance company detected the arson and denied Dominic Motta’s claim when he repeatedly failed to respond to requests by the insurance company that he answer questions about the fire under oath.
In addition to their prison terms, the Mottas were each sentenced to one year of supervised release and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment. Nicholas was also ordered to pay a fine of $7,500 and Dominic was fined $5,000.
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