Newport
Santo F. Lampiasi, 66, is accused of knowingly starting a fire or causing an explosion at the restaurant in the evening hours of Sept. 9, 2014, the indictment states.
The restaurant was closed at the time and no one was injured.
Formerly known as Dimick’s at 398 Main St., it was owned by Santo J. (Joey) Lampiasi, who bought it in 2012 for $60,000, according to the city’s assessing records. About a year after the fire, the city tore down the gutted structure over safety and environmental concerns.
Claremont Fire Chief Rick Bergeron said on Sunday that the state Fire Marshal’s Office has been handling the investigation but his department has been kept informed.
“We have had a number of meetings with them to analyze and review everything,” Bergeron said. “They take all of the information, and they finally came to a point where they had enough to ask for an indictment.”
The fire started around 8:45 and when the first crews arrived the front of the building was heavily involved. It took about two hours to declare the blaze under control.
The next day, the state fire marshal’s office began its investigation. The senior Lampiasi said a day after the fire his son, Joey, lived on the second floor of the restaurant. Repairing the damage is not an option, Santo F. Lampiasi said at the time.
“Everything he (Joey) had is gone,” he said.
The 4,000-square-foot building was constructed in 1930. The property of about three-quarters of an acre was assessed at $72,800 at the time of the fire but is now assessed at $39,200.
Santo F. Lampiasi is the culinary arts instructor at the Sugar River Valley Technical Center in Claremont. Superintendent Middleton McGoodwin said in an email Sunday evening that Lampiasi’s employment status is under review but because it was a personnel matter he could not discuss it further.
