Appeal Denied for Upper Southampton Arsonist

An Upper Southampton man convicted of setting fire to his chiropractic business and three surrounding Bucks County businesses will not receive a new trial, according to an article in Phillyburbs. 

Jonathan P. Wiktorchik, Jr., formerly of Churchville Road, before U.S. District Judge Robert F. Kelly in Philadelphia.

His claim that the lower court erred in allowing a felony conviction for insurance fraud to be admitted to the record was rejected recently by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, according to the Phillyburbs article. 

The arson occurred at the strip mall where Witkorchik's chiropractic office and surrounding businesses were located, 2540 - 48 Mountain View Road in Nockamixon Township, Bucks County on March 30, 2008, at approximately 2:30 a.m.

Investigators said Wiktorchik set a fire using gasoline and destroyed not only his business, the Bucks County Chiropractic Center, which he co-owned with his wife, but four others in the adjoining strip mall.

After the fire, he filed an insurance claim with Maryland Casualty Company, t/a Zurich American Insurance Company (“Zurich”), for which he received a partial payment of $50,000.

According to a press release from the U.S. attorney's office, on three separate occasions during the investigation, Wiktorchik made false statements to federal investigators.

First, they said Wiktorchik claimed he was on a camping trip with his son when the fire was set. They said he subsequently admitted to investigators that this explanation was false, and that he left the camp site in the early morning hours to check on his business.

However, investigators said Wiktorchik then told them that when he arrived at the business, he was assaulted by Spanish-speaking gang members, who, he claimed, caused the explosion and fire.