A Vermont man is now in a Connecticut jail, accused of paying two men to burn a Thomaston barn.
Kevin Maslak, 52, was serving a year in a Northern Vermont prison for a repeat drunken driving offense and was extradited earlier this week.
The fire happened in the summer of 2008 at a barn that Maslak's ex-wife owned. Neighbors reported hearing explosions before the barn behind Shirley Maslak's home was nearly destroyed by fire, police said.
Inside the barn was a mint condition 1989 Chevy Corvette. It was destroyed and other contents in the barn lost.
Fire investigators determined it was arson, but it took awhile to build a case against Shirley’s ex-husband.
Thomaston investigators say he was angry over their divorce settlement and debt. They say Maslak tried to recruit someone to set fire to the large, two-story barn for five years.
Court documents claim Maslak paid a Litchfield man $2,500 to set the fire. David Usher, 37, is charged with first-degree arson and is being held while awaiting trial.
Prosecutors say Usher hired another man, Alvin Wright, 36, of Waterbury to serve as his lookout. Wright is also jailed awaiting trial.
Maslak was arraigned in Bantam Superior Court on Wednesday on a charge of conspiracy to commit arson.
