Long Island Landlord Charged With Arson Amid Tenant Dispute

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Long Island landlord started a gas fire in his home amid tensions with his tenants, police said.

Daswell Anderson, 69, lives in the basement of a home on Warren Street in Uniondale and has been quarreling with a family that rents the ground floor, police said.

On Sunday, police said the tenants heard Anderson banging on pipes in the basement, smelled gas and fled.

Firefighters arrived around 10:30 p.m. to find a blaze in the basement. They extinguished the fire and shut off the gas.

No injuries were reported.

Investigators believe Anderson's activities with the pipes caused the gas leak.

Anderson is expected to be arraigned on arson and reckless endangerment charges at First District Court in Hempstead on Monday.

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