Vehicle arson, insurance fraud case moves forward

BY STACI WILSON

A Great Bend man is accused of intentionally setting fire to his vehicle in August 2011 and collecting on the insurance.

Arson and related felony counts lodged against Paul Formosa Sr., 46, were bound over for trial following a preliminary hearing Monday in New Milford District Court.

Formosa has also been charged with making a fraudulent insurance claim and for making a false statement to police in connection with the Aug. 5, 2011 incident.

All charges were bound over for trial by District Judge Jodi Cordner.

Arson and criminal conspiracy charges lodged against Formosa’s wife, Catherine, were withdrawn Monday by District Attorney Jason Legg.

But Catherine Formosa, 43, still faces one count of unsworn falsification to authorities which was bound over for trial following the proceeding.

The cases, which had been filed separately against the couple by Tpr. John Szuch, were combined for prosecution.

On the stand Monday, Tpr. John Szuch detailed his investigation into the reported stolen vehicle, a GMC Envoy.

The insurance company had paid out $2,000 to a bank and the Formosa’s received $6,000 on the claim.

Szuch told the court that both Paul and Catherine had provided written statements for the police. Szuch also said he had “a gut feeling something was wrong with their demeanor.”

The officer also said he had interviewed neighbors and one person noted that he had heard the Formosa’s vehicle pull in to theFranklin St.driveway at about1 a.m.

Szuch said when he again asked Paul Formosa about the night before, the man became irate and told him he had been with another woman, Christine Zacchino and the two had been drinking at two bars the night before.

According to the trooper’s testimony,Formosa said he was in a relationship with Zacchino and that his wife was okay with that but would be angry with him for drinking because he has health issues.

Szuch told the court there were conflicting stories of who had last seen the vehicle and when it had been seen in the driveway.

When he spoke with Zacchino, Szuch said she related that the car was not in the drive when she dropped Paul Formosa off at his home.

The vehicle was later discovered in a secluded spot near railroad tracks in theNew Milfordarea.

Szuch described the Envoy as “fully burnt” with nothing remaining but its metal shell. He also told the court the tires were still smoldering when he arrived at its location. Part of the license plate number was still legible, the officer said.

Szuch said that the fire marshal called to the scene could not determine the cause or origin of the fire that consumed the vehicle.

Szuch said the case went cold until Zacchino was arrested following a domestic incident at the Formosa residence in Sept. 2011.

After her arrest, Zacchino told police that Paul Formosa had instructed her to lie about the GMC Envoy and she then told police she had “no doubt” Paul Formosa had set fire to the vehicle.

On the stand Monday, Zacchino recanted the statements she made to police in September about the vehicle. She told the court she had been angry at Paul Formosa and drunk at the time she made the statement.

Although she said she did not remember what she told police or wrote in the statement, in court Zacchino said, “I made up the whole story.”

She went on to say that contrary to what she told police on Aug. 5, 2011, the Envoy had been parked in theFormosa’s drive the night it had been reported stolen.

Both Paul and Catherine Formosa were released on unsecured bail. A formal arraignment in Susquehanna County Court was scheduled for June 5.