Ex-Con Facing Foreclosure Accused Of Torching Home; Rejects Plea Deal

In Suffield, Connecticut, the Journal Enquirer reports:

• With more than two dozen felony convictions under his belt, Michael Paul Schook isn't unfamiliar with the criminal justice system. Yet, despite a Hartford Superior Court judge's warnings that he could face more than 20 years in prison if he's convicted of setting fire to his house to collect insurance money, Schook rejected a prosecutor's offer to serve just a fraction of that: eight years behind bars, and 10 years' special parole. Schook, 45, told Judge David P. Gold ... that he wants a trial. [...] A credit check of Schook showed the house was in foreclosure, his car repossessed, and he owed thousands to credit card companies, police say.

For more, see Longtime felon rejects plea offer in Suffield arson. yak