State prosecutors say a New Castle man torched his home rather than sell it as part of a divorce agreement in which his wife would have received the proceeds, then compounded his crimes by filing an $160,000 insurance claim.
The attorney for 59-year-old Timothy McConahy, of New Castle, didn't return a call for comment after his arrest was announced Thursday by Attorney General Linda Kelly. His listed telephone number was out of service.
Kelly says a state fire marshal ruled the fire an arson after finding a garage light covered with gasoline-soaked rags and walls doused with the fuel, too. The home was for sale at the time of the June 2009 fire due to the divorce agreement.
McConahy is free pending a preliminary hearing Oct. 5 on charges including arson and insurance fraud.
