BUFFALO, N.Y. — A 34-year-old Buffalo man has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for setting a fire on Norfolk Southern tracks, destroying trackside equipment.
Michael B. Benitez was convicted of an attempt to wreck, derail, set fire to, or disable railroad on-track equipment for the incident in June 14, 2023. A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York says Benitez placed tires on the tracks behind his residence in Farnham, N.Y., doused them with gasoline, and set the tires on fire. That destroyed equipment used by NS to identify equipment while enroute, and forced the railroad to halt operations while the fire was extinguished, and the equipment was repaired.
Benitez was also ordered to pay $1,382 in restitution to Norfolk Southern.
How does $1,382 compensate the railroad? Maybe add a few zeroes at the end.