Penn. Man Accused Of Torching Home In Alleged Attempt To Use Insurance Proceeds As A "Foreclosure Bailout" Of Delinquent Mortgage; Blames God For Fire

In Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, WNEP-TV Channel 16 reports:

• They say desperate times mean desperate measures, and perhaps the saying can apply to an arson case in Lackawanna County. Tuesday police arrested Manfred Lennartz, 60, of Jermyn. Investigators said he torched his own home to avoid foreclosure. Lennartz insists the fire that destroyed his home near Chapman Lake was an accident. "It was an act of God," he said. "They should have arrested God, because a tree fell on my power line," Lennartz said as he was led from the Lackawanna County courthouse.

• Police said he did it for the insurance money. The home was destroyed by fire in the early morning hours of March 23. Investigators said the home was supposed to go up for sheriff's sale the very next day. Neighbors who spoke to police said the fire started around 1 a.m. One neighbor told police he saw Lennartz's small, black car pull away from the home moments before flames engulfed the house.

For the story, see Man Charged with Torching Home.