Man enters plea in 1995 fire that killed 3 Pittsburgh firefighters, maintains innocence

A man accused of setting a fire at his home on Bricelyn Street in 1995 that killed three Pittsburgh firefighters continues to claim his innocence.

But on Wednesday, after fighting for 27 years, Greg Brown Jr. entered a guilty plea, finally bringing the case to conclusion.

Brown, 44, entered what is called an Alford plea. It allows him to plead guilty while “expressly maintaining his innocence,” said Senior U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone.

Brown’s attorney, Michael Novara, told the court his client chose to plead guilty to avoid the risk of going to trial again.

“Should Mr. Brown further fight the case and be convicted after trial, he faces a sentence of life imprisonment,” said Michael Novara. “After spending 20 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, and having finally won his freedom, Mr. Brown is unwilling to take the chance that he might again be wrongfully convicted and sent back to prison for the rest of his life.”

Both the prosecution and defense agreed that sentencing guidelines in the case would call for life in prison.

However, under the plea agreement, Brown will face no additional imprisonment.

“The appropriate sentence in this case is no further penalty to be imposed,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaun Sweeney, reading from the agreement. “Such a variance is warranted and appropriate under the circumstances of this case.

“We think the disposition we are asking for today will satisfy the interests of justice.”

Brown was 17 at the time of the Feb. 14, 1995, fire at his East Hills home. Three city firefighters died from asphyxiation and smoke inhalation - Marc Kolenda, 27, Patricia Conroy, 43, and Capt. Thomas Brooks.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ruled the fire arson, alleging that gasoline was used to start it, and offered a reward for information in the case.

Two witnesses came forward, including one who disputed Brown’s alibi that he was at the grocery store with his mother when the fire began. The other claimed that Brown told him several times while they both were at a youth boot camp that he set the fire.

The case went to trial in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court with prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office and district attorney’s office, who claimed Brown set the fire to collect on a $20,000 renter’s insurance policy taken out by his mother.

The witnesses testified that they were not getting any payment for their testimony.

Brown was found guilty of three counts of second-degree murder and ordered to serve a mandatory prison term of life without parole.

His mother was found guilty of insurance fraud and ordered to probation.

Brown immediately pursued an appeal and fought his conviction for 20 years while incarcerated.

During that legal battle, he learned that the two civilian witnesses against him had lied on the stand about not receiving payment for their testimony. One received $10,000 and the other was paid $5,000, according to court records.

In 2014, Common Pleas Judge Joseph K. Williams granted Brown a new trial, which was later upheld by the state Superior Court. He was released from prison.

But in November 2016, the U.S. attorney’s office indicted Brown on federal charges of malicious destruction of property resulting in death.

During Wednesday’s plea hearing, Sweeney told the court that evidence of the defendant’s guilt “is as strong today as it was in 1997.”

He recounted that evidence, including statements from Keith Wright, a neighbor on Bricelyn Street, who said he saw Brown standing on the sidewalk outside his house watching the fire that night before any fire trucks were called.

In addition, Sweeney said a police officer blocking traffic at the scene saw Brown’s mother, Darlene Buckner, returning from the grocery store, driving down the street during the fire. The officer said she was in the car by herself.

The defense countered both points in their statement, though. Novara said that Wright did not come forward with information on the case until after the reward was offered and then lied about receiving payment during Brown’s trial.

As for Buckner being in the car alone when she returned home from the grocery store, Brown claimed she dropped him off in the rear of the house before she interacted with firefighters there.

The defense also disputed the science offered by the ATF that the fire was even arson.

Instead, Novara cited reports from experts they consulted who believe the fire was started by a faulty furnace.

Brown did not address the court, nor did anyone from the victims’ families.

Novara told Cercone that Brown has done well since his release from prison and rebuilt his life from scratch. He works full-time, bought a car and is looking forward to renting his own home.

“It’s time to finally end this case so he can continue his journey forward,” Novara said.

After the hearing, Brown expressed his anger and regret at the 20 years he spent in prison.

“For nothing. For lies. The whole case was a lie,” Brown said. “They destroyed my whole family.”

Defense attorney Dave Fawcett called what happened in Brown’s case “unconscionable.

“If we want to avoid wrongful convictions and prevent them in the future, we need to have accountability,” he said. “This ends it finally for Greg – this 25-year drama. What we need to do, what we need to change is – make government officials, those who don’t follow the law, we need to make them accountable.”