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A Bucks County Man Is Sentenced For Destroying A Strip Mall By Fire

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A 59-year-old Bucks County chiropractor convicted of torching his office and destroying the Mountain View plaza it was in has been sentenced to prison.

Jonathon Wiktorchik (photo) has been sentenced to 17 years in prison. The arson endangered firefighters called to the scene, destroyed businesses and dreams.

Susan Cooper told the court she had hoped her E-clips salon would carry her into retirement.

Arson Gas Containers -Hanson
(Credit: Tony Hanson)

"It was a day of devastation caused by a heartless, ruthless, selfish monster. After the fire, I did not go back into business for myself."

And the prosecutor says Wiktorchik did it for one reason, greed.

Wiktorchik, who was burned in the fire, still denies he started it. But the jury rejected his claim that he went to the office in the middle of the night based on a premonition and was then accosted by Hispanic men who set the fire.

Reported By Tony Hanson, KYW Newsradio

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