Arson case drags on

A suspicious fire that destroyed Carey's Country Store in Sinnemahoning more than five years ago remains the subject of litigation.

After initially being cleared of criminal charges, John Floyd Carey and his former wife were unsuccessful in their efforts to cash in on an insurance policy covering the building and its contents.

Later, in June 2005, Carey was indicted on federal charges stemming from the Oct. 11, 2001, fire. He is on trial before a jury in the United States District Court, Williamsport, with Senior Judge Malcolm Muir presiding.

More than three dozen witnesses, many of them from Cameron County, have testified about Carey's actions before and after the fire.

During a civil trial in front of a Cameron County jury, Carey testified that he had been at the business on Oct. 11, 2001, but was enroute to the Pittsburgh area at the time the fire broke out. He cited electrical wiring problems as the likely cause of the fire.

Carey's attorney, H. B. Fink, pointed out to jurors that the Pa. State Police had investigated the blaze and found insufficient evidence to bring charges against Carey. Jurors sided with the insurance company in denying the claim by Carey and his former wife, Janice Venterini.

He is now facing trial for arson of a building used in interstate commerce, a separate charge of using fire to commit a felony (insurance fraud), and four counts of mail fraud.