Man convicted again in fatal fire

TROY, N.Y. » For the second time in 30 years a Troy man was convicted of setting a house fire that killed two people.

On Tuesday, State Supreme Court Judge Andrew Ceresia found Richard J. Wright, 50, guilty of seconddegree murder and first- degree arson, the same charges he was convicted of in 1988. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 16, according to Special Prosecutor Jasper Mills.

Wright has been in prison since his conviction. He was sentenced to serve between 25 years to life.

In October, Ceresia overturned Wright’s original conviction, siding with arguments made by Wright’s attorney, Michael McDermott, who said advances in forensics technology cast doubt on the evidence presented against Wright in 1988. The Record wasn’t able to reach McDermott for comment. Mills said the case lasted about a week and a half. Wright waived his right to a jury trial, opting to have evidence and testimony heard by a judge. Mills said he and his team approached the case as if it were fresh, re- examining evidence using new tech- niques and calling forth as many witnesses as were still available. He said all evidence shows Wright started the fire by throwing a “Molotov cocktail,” at the house he thought was vacant.

According to Mills, Wright’s motivation for setting the fire was a dispute he had with another person who lived there. Wright believed the family to be away on a trip, but they’d returned. The fire was on Sept.

1, 9186 at 17 108th Street. Tara Gilbert, 14, who lived there, and friend Meredith Pipino, 13, died of smoke inhalation.

Mills said Wright was seen in the area of the fire ahead of firefighters, and his explanations as to why he was there didn’t add up. Wright also allegedly confessed to setting the fire to another person while the two were using drugs.