Sidney Spinner, 45, of 114 Graham in TMR owned a bunch of buildings in Montreal in 1973. Well, legally speaking, he didn't own any because he was prohibited from owning property as part of the rules of his bankruptcy deal. But he paid people to sign for him and pretend they were the owners.
One of the buildings he may have owned was at The Castle Apartments 5249 Park Avenue. It was targeted by arson in a fire at 3 am April 8, 1973, killing 8 and forcing others to move.
The dead were Leonard Bathgate, 43, Jean-Paul Paquette, 56, Paul Heller, 30, Maurice Heller, 30 and four others.
One tenant and co-janitor Mary Nadon, 31, said that Leon Berlin, who may or may not have been the owner, repeatedly said that he'd like to see the building burn down. Nadon was terrified of the other janitor and wasn't entirely stable, she was busted for shoplifting and took 50 pills in her cell but survived.
Berlin supposedly owed $82,000 on the 77 unit building which he had owned for 10 years.
The insurance had been cancelled for non-payment but it was still in effect because there's a clause that leaves the insurance in effect for 15 days after the policy runs out. The owner had a new policy for $310,000 to start as soon as the other was finished.
In 1972 Berlin says he sold the building to Joseph Longtin, 63. But Longtin said he was paid $25 by Sidney Spinner to sign a paper saying he was the owner. He knew nothing about the building and had never visited. So it was unclear who the real owner of the building was at the time of the fire. Berlin said he had taken it over again in a few weeks earlier because the purchasor had defaulted.
In July, Leon Berlin, aka Leon Arthur Berlin of Hampstead, who was in his 40s, plead not guilty to charges of criminal negligence, a crime punishable by life imprisonment. He also plead not guilty to a possible five year sentence on a charge of causing fire by ignoring rules. Spinner also faced charges but we cannot immediately discern what those were. Keep in mind this was just six months after the Blue Bird Cafe fire downtown which killed 37, so not surprisingly, few had patience for this sort of thing.
Fire department officials were excoriated for their laxness in turning a blind eye to blocked fire escapes by the coroner Paul Emile l'Ecuyer who suggested a series of recommendations, including one that would not allow owners to insure their buildings for more than they were worth.
One of the buildings he may have owned was at The Castle Apartments 5249 Park Avenue. It was targeted by arson in a fire at 3 am April 8, 1973, killing 8 and forcing others to move.
The dead were Leonard Bathgate, 43, Jean-Paul Paquette, 56, Paul Heller, 30, Maurice Heller, 30 and four others.
Berlin supposedly owed $82,000 on the 77 unit building which he had owned for 10 years.
The insurance had been cancelled for non-payment but it was still in effect because there's a clause that leaves the insurance in effect for 15 days after the policy runs out. The owner had a new policy for $310,000 to start as soon as the other was finished.
In 1972 Berlin says he sold the building to Joseph Longtin, 63. But Longtin said he was paid $25 by Sidney Spinner to sign a paper saying he was the owner. He knew nothing about the building and had never visited. So it was unclear who the real owner of the building was at the time of the fire. Berlin said he had taken it over again in a few weeks earlier because the purchasor had defaulted.
In July, Leon Berlin, aka Leon Arthur Berlin of Hampstead, who was in his 40s, plead not guilty to charges of criminal negligence, a crime punishable by life imprisonment. He also plead not guilty to a possible five year sentence on a charge of causing fire by ignoring rules. Spinner also faced charges but we cannot immediately discern what those were. Keep in mind this was just six months after the Blue Bird Cafe fire downtown which killed 37, so not surprisingly, few had patience for this sort of thing.
Fire department officials were excoriated for their laxness in turning a blind eye to blocked fire escapes by the coroner Paul Emile l'Ecuyer who suggested a series of recommendations, including one that would not allow owners to insure their buildings for more than they were worth.
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