{"id":9088,"date":"2015-02-05T14:21:32","date_gmt":"2015-02-05T22:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=9088"},"modified":"2015-02-05T19:23:27","modified_gmt":"2015-02-06T03:23:27","slug":"authorities-close-making-arrest-38-year-old-n-y-fire-killed-ten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=9088","title":{"rendered":"Authorities Close to Making an Arrest in 38-Year-Old N.Y. Fire That Killed Ten &#8211; Fire Chief Suspect"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Jay_Leiderman.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-9089 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Jay_Leiderman-e1423173054771-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Jay_Leiderman\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Jay Leiderman is a criminal defense attorney in Ventura, California. \u00a0<\/em><em>He co-authored the first ever book on the legal defense of California medical marijuana crimes and has been called the \u201cHacktivist\u2019s Advocate\u201d for his work defending those accused of computer crimes.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>By Jay Leiderman<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>After 36 Years, a New York Town Sifts Through Suspicions on a Fatal Fire<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Law enforcement officials in Greece, New York say they are close to seeking an indictment in connection with a 1978 motel fire that killed 10 people.<\/p>\n<p>What Greece lacks in permanent memorials it makes up for in coffee-shop conversations, and opinions, about who set the fire and why justice has never been served.<\/p>\n<p>Thirty-six years later, the blaze \u2014 one of the deadliest hotel fires in the state\u2019s history \u2014 is still under active investigation. Law enforcement officials say they are close to seeking an indictment; the prime suspect says he is innocent. Yet for people in this working-class town outside Rochester, the story is as much one of local political intrigue as of law and order.<\/p>\n<p>The twist? According to officials briefed on the case, that suspect \u2014 who was also the first firefighter to arrive at the scene \u2014 is the current fire chief.<\/p>\n<p>* * *<\/p>\n<p><strong>Harold J. Phillips, then an off-duty lieutenant with the Ridge Road Fire District,<\/strong> was the first to report the fire, which began in a basement stairwell.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Phillips, who is both the suspect and the Ridge Road district\u2019s current chief, has always maintained that the fire\u2019s outbreak was accidental. He declined to be interviewed for this article. He told The Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester in 2013 that the suspicion about him had taken a toll. \u201cAll these innuendos and rumors out there not only bother me, but are hurtful to my family,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chief Phillips\u2019s lawyer, James Nobles<\/strong>, said in a statement on Saturday that there was \u201cno credible evidence\u201d that his client \u201chad any involvement in the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe, after a thorough investigation, that the fire being an arson is also very questionable,\u201d Mr. Nobles said, adding that he doubted that any presentation of the case to a grand jury was \u201clikely or imminent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harold J. Phillips in 1978. A fire lieutenant at the time, he was the first to report the blaze, according to published reports.<\/p>\n<p>In interviews over the years, Chief Phillips, who is known as Bud, has said he was driving by the Holiday Inn after finishing a moonlighting shift as a security guard when he saw the flames.<\/p>\n<p>His call, just after 2:30 a.m., set off a swell of sirens; 125 firefighters were soon battling a full-on inferno as motel guests leapt from the windows in their pajamas. Dozens were injured. More than 150 people escaped, but 10 did not. Seven of the dead were Canadians, including three women from one family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn my world, I was in the right place at the right time,\u201d Chief Phillips told The Democrat and Chronicle in 2013. \u201cMy actions saved lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To many in town, though, Chief Phillips, now 66, was no hero.<\/p>\n<p>A local investigator initially called the fire an accident. But an expert fire investigator from New York City, <strong>John Stickevers<\/strong>, was quickly brought in. He concluded that the blaze had been deliberately set. The police in Greece had 10 homicides on their hands.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Stickevers, who retired years later as New York City\u2019s chief fire marshal, recalled in an interview that he first saw Chief Phillips while watching coverage of the fire on television when it happened. He sensed something was off, he said, but could not say exactly what.<\/p>\n<p>His suspicions were heightened, he said, when he arrived in Greece to conduct his inquiry: He asserts that it would have been impossible to see the flames from the street, as Chief Phillips had described.<\/p>\n<p>****<\/p>\n<p><em>Jay Leiderman can be reached \u00a0(805)654-0200. His website is www.JayLeiderman.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"NBC News 10 Report on Greece, N.Y. Fire\" href=\"http:\/\/www.whec.com\/article\/stories\/s3632298.shtml\">Related report from NBC affiliate News 10 in Rochester, New York<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jay Leiderman is a criminal defense attorney in Ventura, California. \u00a0He co-authored the first ever book on the legal defense of California medical marijuana crimes and has been called the \u201cHacktivist\u2019s Advocate\u201d&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[648],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other-voices"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Authorities Close to Making an Arrest in 38-Year-Old N.Y. 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