Angelo Dominic Bitossi has been found guilty of starting a fire which destroyed some of New Zealand's most precious gay historical records. The 35-year-old had denied an arson charge over the fire at the Kiwi Self-Storage depot in Kilbirnie, Wellington, in April. One of the destroyed units contained irreplaceable records of the landmark campaign for Homosexual Law Reform. The records were held by the MP who led the frequently viciously opposed campaign, Fran Wilde, who was intending to use them as the basis for a written history. “The loss caused was in the millions of dollars, and hundreds of people lost their possessions,” Justice Simon France says in his decision. “Looking at the evidence as a whole, I consider the case against Mr Bitossi was overwhelming and accordingly convict him of the offence charged.” Bitossi remains in custody and will be sentenced on February 5.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 11th December 2014 - 10:51am