ROCKFORD, Ill. — A Rockford man has pleaded guilty to burning down his own restaurant and later collecting the insurance money.
James Purifoy, 51, admitted in a plea agreement this week that he intentionally started a fire inside his business, “15th and Chris,” located in the 200 block of 15th Avenue in Rockford, Andrew Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, announced on Wednesday.
According to prosecutors, Purifoy was still inside the restaurant at the time he started the fire and suffered severe burns…