Prison for N.Y. Man Who Pled Guilty to Arson Attempt

New York’s Superintendent of Insurance Gregory V. Serio announced that an Auburn businessman, Francis Rikhoff, who pled guilty to an attempted arson in order to collect insurance monies for TNY Car Toyz, a store he managed in Auburn, Cayuga County, has been sentenced to serve a one to three year term in State prison.

Rikhoff, of Syracuse, was arrested on February 13, 2003 after the store and its contents were destroyed during a suspicious fire that occurred on February 9, 2003. An investigation revealed that he had hired Paul Sztanek, a store employee, to set the fire. Sztanec was also charged with arson and agreed to cooperate with the investigation.

The NYSID’s Insurance Fraud Bureau worked with the Cayuga County Sheriffs office and the Syracuse Police Department throughout this investigation.