NY Man Gets Prison For Torching Father’s Former Business

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A man who torched a building in Buffalo after his father lost his business to a new owner is heading to prison.

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that 27-year-old Ryan Smolinski has been sentenced to more than three years behind bars. He pleaded guilty to arson of a commercial building last year.

Authorities say Smolinski was upset about his father losing Western New York Property Contractors, which his father co-owned with another individual. Smolinski was drinking with two others in June 2014 and asked them to help him burn the building.

Prosecutors say the three went to the business and threw a Molotov cocktail on the roof of the building and placed another underneath a garage door.

The fires resulted in about $2,200 in damages.

[STORY BY: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]