Owner of Chicago-Area Gay Bar Admits to Arson Scheme

A Chicago-area man has admitted to hiring an arsonist to set fire to the suburban gay bar he owned as part of an insurance fraud scheme.

Frank Elliott pleaded guilty to one court of arson and one count of insurance fraud in connection with the June 2012 fire at the Velvet Rope Ultra Lounge in Oak Park, Ill., Windy City Times reports. He entered the plea in June in Cook County Circuit Court, but it was reported by local media just this week.

Elliott was sentenced to two years' probation and ordered to pay a fine of $1,179, plus make restitution amounting to $107,000, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state's attorney told the Times.

At the time of the fire, Elliott said he suspected it was a hate crime, as there was antigay graffiti spray-painted on the walls. But prosecutors said he put the slurs there himself, apparently with the help of an accomplice.

Elliott was motivated by financial difficulties, prosecutors added. He also once owned the Bonsai Bar in Chicago's Boystown neighborhood. That was the site of his arrest in November 2013. The Bonsai Bar is now closed, and the Velvet Rope never reopened after the fire.