Paul Resnick, 44, of Lower Salford, as seen in his May 2019 booking image.
A longtime local firefighter has entered a guilty plea to a felony arson charge stemming from a fire that occurred at his home on April 4, 2019.
On Jan. 14, 44-year-old Paul Resnick, of Lower Salford, pleaded guilty to arson – intent to collect insurance, as part of a negotiated plea agreement with prosecutors. Additional felony charges of arson-danger of death or bodily injury, risking catastrophe and filing a fraudulent insurance claim, as well as eight misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person, were dropped in exchange for the guilty plea.
Court records indicate that Common Pleas Judge William Carpenter deferred sentencing to conduct a pre-sentencing background check. Kate Delano, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office Director of Communications, told North Penn Now that prosecutors did not offer a sentencing recommendation, and she added that restitution may be involved due to the fire damaging a neighboring home.
The district attorney’s office filed charges nearly two years ago, claiming that Resnick intentionally burned down his own home along the 300-block of Huckleberry Lane on April 4, 2019, in an effort to collect insurance money. Resnick was arraigned on May 7, 2019, and has remained free on $2,500 unsecured bail as his court proceedings — like many others — faced substantial delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Resnick, who had put in more than 20 years of service as a volunteer firefighter, was an associate member of the Harleysville Fire Company at the time of the incident. Following his arrest, Harleysville Fire Company issued a release stating that Resnick had resigned from the fire company after being suspended with intent to terminate.
Prior to his time with the Harleysville Fire Company, Resnick had also served with the Fire Department of Montgomery Township and Wissahickon Fire Company.
Resnick is expected to be sentenced within the next 60 days, Delano said.
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