Bar owner indicted on arson and fraud charges in 2017 fire that damaged his downtown Waukesha building

Jim Riccioli, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·2 min read
What remained of the downtown Waukesha building after an April 2019 , the second in two years, is pictured here shortly after the late-night blaze. It's the earlier fire, in March 2017, that has resulted in a federal indictment against the owner of a bar, Stage Off Main, for alleged arson and fraud. The building was more recently demolished by its new owner.

WAUKESHA - Twice burned and now gone, a two-floor commercial building in downtown Waukesha became the focus of a federal investigation for a March 2017 fire.

A grand jury indictment has alleged that incident involved arson, with the owner of the bar within the now-demolished building illicitly pocketing more than $161,000 in insurance claims paid in three subsequent checks.

In the federal indictment filed Dec. 3 in U.S. District Court for Eastern Wisconsin, prosecutors suggested that basement fire at 854 Martin St. was intentionally set — though the only court document currently available doesn't explain how the fire started or how bar owner Brian Whitton was involved in the blaze itself.

Nor does it mention the second fire, in April 2019, that fire officials say started on the upper floor, badly damaging the roof and residential areas of the already-compromised two-floor building whose commercial space had remained vacant. Whitton is not accused in that fire, which ultimately led to the building's demolition.

Crews regrade the property at 854 Martin St. on Dec. 6. The commercial building that stood there was demolished in November following a fire seven months earlier. Another fire, two years earlier in March 2017, became subject of a federal investigation resulting in arson and fraud charges against the previous owner.
Crews regrade the property at 854 Martin St. on Dec. 6. The commercial building that stood there was demolished in November following a fire seven months earlier. Another fire, two years earlier in March 2017, became subject of a federal investigation resulting in arson and fraud charges against the previous owner.

According to the indictment, Whitton and an unamed business partner purchased the Martin Street property through a land contract prior to the 2017 fire. Whitton operated the Stage Off Main bar during that time.

The property, business and related income was insured for up to $2 million by the United States Liability Insurance Co.

In addition to the arson charge, the indictment also alleges four other criminal counts.

Two of those counts allege Whitton defrauded the insurer between March 2017 and September 2018, when the final claim check was issued.

Because the transactions and claims involved U.S. mail, he was also indicted for mail fraud.

He also allegedly misled or lied to agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who investigated the March 25, 2017, fire, according to the indictment.

Whitton's attorney, Daniel Adams, declined to address details or clarifications of the indictment's allegations, but said his client will ultimately prevail in court.

"Mr. Whitton is innocent of all wrongdoing and looks forward to being vindicated," Adams said in an email message.

The building on the property, which, according to tax records, is now owned by Historic Prairieville LP, was demolished in November. It's unclear if the property, located adjacent to the vacant Ace Hardware building, is part of Historic Prairieville's redevelopment of the original Waukesha County Courthouse into apartments.

Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jariccioli.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ex-bar owner indicted for arson, fraud in downtown Waukesha fire