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– US prosecutorsNY (Times Union) -The co-owner of a Guyanese restaurant was deep in debt and behind on her taxes when she deliberately set fire to the business in hopes of collecting on an insurance policy, according to a prosecutor and court papers.An indictment was handed up Thursday to Visiting County Judge James A. Murphy III,Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys, charging Zabeeda Permaul,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, 54, with first- and second-degree arson and two counts of second-degree insurance fraud,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, all felonies.A woman who lived in an upstairs apartment at 1414 State St. had to be rescued by firefighters and was hospitalized with smoke inhalation as a result of the Feb. 22 fire.Permaul operated Charlie’s West Indian Bakery & Restaurant on the first floor of the building and lived in a second apartment upstairs.“The defendant did it for financial gain and she did it while she had reasonable knowledge somebody was present in that building while she set fire to it,” said Assistant District Attorney Kevin Cheung said.Permaul, who is from Guyana and a married mother of three adult children,Wholesale NFL Jerseys China, was taken into custody and jailed without bail after her arraignment Thursday. If convicted,cheap nfl jerseys, she could face 25 years to life, the maximum penalty on the top count, Cheung said. Permaul had been free on $100,000 bond after initially being charged with second-degree arson and first-degree reckless endangerment.Her attorney, Samuel Iroegbu, said his client maintains her innocence. He declined further comment.Cheung said Permaul owed money to family and friends and was in arrears on her city taxes on the building. The business,Cheap China Jerseys Authentic, which opened in April 2008, is named for Permaul’s husband.Investigators said she used an accelerant to set fire to the building’s cellar stairs. |
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