Fla. Businessman Charged for Torching Professional Dry Cleaner’s

A businessman, his son, and two of his son’s friends are facing arson charges after detectives with the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office determined they colluded to burn down the father’s Tamarac, Fla. dry cleaning business in order to collect on insurance.

Scott Zanger, 50, owner of Professional Dry Cleaners, at 4245 W. Commercial Blvd., his son James, 22, and Joseph Simpson and Sean Bellot, both 23, were charged in the Nov. 25 fire that destroyed the business while adjacent businesses sustained smoke and water damage. The arrests last week stem from an investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office, Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigations, and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

If convicted, the men could each face up to 15 years in prison in addition to fines and restitution.

Detectives said Scott Zanger plotted the arson as a means to bail out of a failing business. The investigation determined that the elder Zanger left town knowing that his son and his friends were going to set the business on fire. Detectives said the fire was started in the early morning hours of Nov. 25 when someone stacked clothes in a pile, doused the piles with lighter fluid and struck a match.

Arson detectives estimated the damage at nearly $400,000.