The owner of a furniture store destroyed by fire along with more than a dozen adjacent businesses in 1991 has been sentenced to four months of home detention, five years of supervised probation, 400 hours of community service and $10,000 in charitable contributions for mail fraud in connection with the blaze.
Nafez Salem, who owned Nafez Furniture and Appliances, had been charged in Federal District Court on St. Thomas with conspiracy, aiding and abetting to commit arson with explosive materials, and mail fraud. Under a plea bargain, he pleaded guilty to mail fraud in return for the prosecution's agreement to drop similar charges against his son Hakem Salem, The V.I. Daily News reported.
According to court documents, the mail fraud charge stemmed from the elder Salem's use of the Postal Service to file a fraudulent insurance claim with Lloyd's of London that overstated his losses. The documents say Salem's claim included the loss of furniture that apparently was moved to a warehouse before the fire occurred.
The family business had been located in the Norre Gade end of the block-long Kronprindsens Gade complex extending to the waterfront. The prosecution said Salem poured gasoline throughout the store and ignited it. The fire spread to other business in the complex, causing more than $2 million in damage.
Chief District Court Judge Thomas K. Moore sentenced Salem to wear an electronic monitor while serving the four months' home detention and specified that Salem must donate $10,000 worth of furniture and appliances to V.I. agencies that care for children and the elderly. The conviction could have carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.