KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Federal prosecutors on Tuesday showed video surveillance evidence in court on Tuesday of someone deliberately setting the fire that destroyed the downtown Hereford House restaurant in October of 2008.
Restaurant owner Rod Anderson and two other men, Vincent Pishowta and Mark Sorentino, are charged with arson in connection to the arson which destroyed the Kansas City landmark, allegedly for insurance money.
Experts from the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms testified on Tuesday that the arsonists brought 14 plastic jugs full of gasoline and set them on fire in the bar area. Within minutes, the restaurant was in flames.
Prosecutors allege that the suspects used the code from a fired employee to turn off the burglar alarm three times – twice to case the restaurant and the third time to start the fire.
Defense attorneys argue that the men on the tape are not their clients, and with no fingerprints or DNA recovered at the scene, prosecutors are relying on the visual evidence to convict the three defendants.
The trial is expected to last the remainder of the week.