John O’Brien / The Post Standard
Kathy Coffta Sims / Contributing photographer
Oneida firefighters work on the smoldering remains of National Casket Co., which erupted into a tower of flames in November 2006. Jeffrey Truman Sr., of Oneida, was convicted Wednesday of insurance fraud and setting fire to the building.
A federal jury has convicted an Oneida man of arson for his involvement in a fire at his own building in 2006 to collect on a $4 million insurance policy.
Jeffrey Truman Sr., 52, was convicted in U.S. District Court in Utica on Wednesday of insurance fraud, using fire to commit mail fraud, scheme to defraud and aiding another person in setting fire to the former National Casket Co. building in Oneida on Nov. 12, 2006.
A Madison County Court judge dismissed arson and insurance fraud charges against Truman two years ago, citing a lack of evidence. Truman’s son, Jeffrey Truman Jr., 24, pleaded guilty to arson in 2008. He testified then that his father told him to set fire to the building, which was owned by Truman Sr.’s company, JMM Properties LLC.
Truman Sr. faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years when he’s sentenced by Judge David Hurd, according to prosecutor Edward Broton, who was assisted in the trial by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll. Truman Jr. served two years in prison for his arson conviction.
