Local Man Gets 16 Years in Jail for Burning Business Down
The owner of One Source Motors committed arson on his own company.
A Huntingdon Valley man will face 16 years in a prison after burning down his business in Northeast Philadelphia to obtain money from the insurance claim.
Michael Giamo, 31, organized a fire at his auto-repair shop, One Source Motors, in May 2010. He fled the country to Brazil beforehand and agreed to pay a friend $10,000 for setting up the fire.
Giamo collected $127,000 from the arson and was sentenced to pay back over $200,000 in restitution.
An investigation of the scene revealed a pile of burned promotional t-shirts on an office chair and the area around it. It was determined that someone had intentionally poured gasoline on the shirts and started the fire.
Giamo was found guilty of mail fraud, using fire to commit mail fraud, false statements to federal investigators, obstruction of justice, and related charges.
The friend, Israel “Izzy” Kniestedt, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and was sentenced to 7 ½ years. He had been living in the United States illegally at least since 2007.
