Cranberry sports store owner to serve 5 years, pay $1.19 million in arson

A federal judge yesterday sentenced the former owner of a Cranberry sporting goods store to five years in prison and ordered him to pay more than $1 million for arranging a fire at his store.

Thomas H. Smith II, 26, of Wheeling, W.Va., pleaded guilty in February to arson and fraud charges in connection with the 2007 fire at the Cranberry Towne Center Plaza on Route 19.

U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond ordered Smith to serve five years of supervised release after prison. Smith also must pay $1.19 million in restitution to insurance companies and other businesses that were in the mall.

Smith solicited three teenagers to set the fire at Play It Again Sports because he was having financial problems at the business, prosecutors said. One juvenile set the fire after Smith showed him how to use a heat gun. The youth ignited several cardboard boxes with the gun.

Butler County authorities handled the fire-setter's case in juvenile court, prosecutors said.

Smith also pleaded guilty to defrauding Erie Insurance Co. by filing false damage claims.

The fire caused about $2 million in damage to the plaza, forcing out businesses that included Beneficial Consumer Discount and Alpine Pools and Spas.

The building now has three tenants: a chiropractor, a furniture store and Alpine Pools, which doubled its space.

"It's good to have this building rebuilt and to have these tenants in it. These kinds of buildings are important for small businesses," said Ron Henshaw, Cranberry's director of community development.