A judge has ordered members of a suburban Philadelphia family whose mansion had three fires in five years to stand trial in a $20 million insurance-fraud case.
Political fundraiser and hostess Claire Risoldi and her family are accused of living large on trumped-up insurance claims involving their 10-acre "Clairemont" estate.
Bucks County Judge C. Robert Roth's ruling Wednesday came after six days of preliminary hearing testimony.
A jewelry appraiser testified Claire Risoldi used "salty language," called him a "rat bastard" and discussed the Mafia during a meeting over her claims that millions of dollars in jewelry disappeared during a fire.
Defense lawyers say the fires were electrical and have vowed to fight the criminal charges.
Risoldi's husband killed himself in February. Her daughter, son and daughter-in-law are also charged.
