Chicago's Velvet Rope bar was destroyed by arson in
July 2012. Anti-gay slurs were found scrawled on the walls. On Friday, the club's owner was arrested
for the crime.
The former owner of an Oak Park bar and restaurant destroyed in a fire last year was arrested Friday night and charged with two counts of arson and one count of insurance fraud, Oak Park police said today. Frank Elliot, 26, operated the Velvet Rope Ultra Lounge on 728 Lake St., when it burned in an early morning fire June 3, 2012. He was arrested Friday at another bar he operates in Chicago. Prosecutors said Elliott and a friend went to a liquor store and got several bottles of Everclear -- high grade alcohol. The two doused the bar with the alcohol and sprayed gay slurs on the walls before igniting the bar, prosecutors said. They said Elliott then filed a $150,000 insurance claim.
Elliot faces nearly 30 years in prison.
(Tipped by JMG reader Jake)Labels: Chicago, crime, gay bars, nightlife
