arson firegeezer on 28 Feb 2008 09:26 am
$1 Million Bail Set For “Chief’s House” Arsonist
THE SAN FRANCISCO PLANNING DIRECTOR’S CRAZY BOYFRIEND who started a fire in the city’s historic Fire Chief’s Residence last Friday night (reported on Firegeezer HERE.) has had his bail on the arson charge set at $1 million.
S. F. Fire Chief’s Residence
The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting today:
Lance Farber, 47, pleaded not guilty to felony arson and vandalism in a brief appearance at the Hall of Justice, shortly before Superior Court Judge John Conway set bail.
“I am concerned that this is a public safety issue,” the judge said.
Farber was ordered to return to court Friday after being evaluated for migraine headaches. His lawyer said the headaches have worsened since Farber was arrested Friday night.
Farber is a chiropractor who moved to San Francisco from Seattle in January with incoming Planning Director John Rahaim. He was presented in court with a stay-away order forbidding contact with Rahaim.
Farber’s lawyer says that the dispute that led to the arson was a “lovers’ quarrel.” While Rahaim was at a function Friday night, Farber set their bed on fire and then proceded to trash the historic-landmark house by smashing some of the antique furniture and smearing canned tomatoes on the carpets and walls. The damage estimate has been upgraded to $30,000.
Lance Farber
(San Mateo County Sheriff’s mug shot)
On a Web site that was copyrighted in 2003, Farber, who Rahaim had said was a holistic chiropractor and nutritionist, referred to himself as a doctor and listed numerous credentials.
He also stated, “I am committed to improving the quality of people’s lives, healing the planet.”
The Fire Chief’s Residence was built in 1923 and used by the city’s fire chiefs since then until the current chief Joanne Hayes-White took the job. She has a family with school-age children and chose to live in her own home where the schools are preferable.
The home has occasionally been used during Mayor Gavin Newsom’s administration as temporary housing for newly arrived city officials. His office said Monday that practice would end.
Read the full story in today’s Chronicle HERE.
