After prison and probation, convicted arsonist hit with financial judgment [The Salem News, Beverly, Mass.]

Feb. 27—SWAMPSCOTT — A man who pleaded guilty to burning down his Swampscott home rather than give it to his wife in their pending divorce back in 2016 has now been ordered to reimburse the insurance company.

On Friday, a Newburyport Superior Court judge entered a default judgment of $628,095 against Timothy Brosnan.

The amount includes the net loss suffered by Citation Insurance, which paid out $587,000 in claims to two mortgage holders and Brosnan's ex-wife after the July 30, 2016, fire at 11 Linden Ave.

Citation Insurance went to court in 2019, seeking to hold Brosnan liable for the loss to the insurer after the sale of what remained led to a net loss of $438,699.

The default judgment entered on Friday also includes interest and costs.

According to the order, Brosnan, 63, did not appear for a hearing on the motion last week in Newburyport Superior Court.

Brosnan pleaded guilty in 2018 to arson and causing injury to a firefighter, and was sentenced to four to five years in prison followed by two years of probation. With credit for time he spent in jail awaiting trial, he was released in 2020 and completed his probation last fall.

In November, Brosnan, representing himself, filed a motion asking for a judge to schedule an immediate trial, rather than respond to questions from the insurer's attorney. He wrote that he would invoke his Fifth Amendment rights (which he had waived during his guilty plea in the criminal case) until trial, when, he wrote, he would be "more than happy to recant (sic) the events of the day."

Brosnan, an Irish immigrant who prior to the fire had been a successful home builder and remodeler, also wrote that he believes he was "forced" to plead guilty in the face of "the motherlode of bad luck" and what he contends is anti-Irish sentiment.

"At that point I figured well, the no dog's (sic) no Irish inside, or no Irish need apply signs were gone from the shops and factory windows, but Essex Superior court hadn't got the memo yet," Brosnan wrote on Nov. 5. "So that's how and why I took the deal — a forced deal at that point, which was better than a botched trial. This is why I ask the court, let the truth be heard by a jury of my peers, after all, isn't that what courts are about, truth and justice."

Efforts to locate Brosnan were not successful on Monday. His state construction supervisor and real estate licenses are no longer valid.

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis

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