Local News in Brief : Arson Plotter Convicted
The owner of the former Landmark Hotel in Ontario, an elegant stopover for wealthy travelers in the 1930s, was convicted of hiring someone to burn down the building in order to collect $1.2 million in insurance.
Gabriel Torquato, 56, a Van Nuys investment broker, faces a possible 35 years in prison for his conviction in federal court on conspiracy, arson and mail fraud charges in connection with the April 14 blaze.
Charles E. Smith, a real estate appraiser from Canoga Park, earlier pleaded guilty to arson in connection with the fire. He testified that he was hired by Torquato to torch the dilapidated hotel, used in recent years as a shelter for homeless men.
The hotel, vacant at the time of the fire, had been the subject of a number of orders from the city to either bring the building up to code or close it. Torquato’s lawyer argued that Smith set the blaze and then tried to extort money from Torquato. U.S. District Judge A. Wallace Tashima set sentencing for Feb. 29.
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