An Islip Terrace man has pleaded guilty to setting fire to an East Islip bar after becoming angry when employees asked him to leave, Suffolk County prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Paul Lucia, 60, pleaded guilty Tuesday, Oct. 13, to second-degree arson and related charges in connection with the Nov. 20, 2025, fire at Riley Fibbers Pub & Restaurant. He faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced next month.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Lucia was at the bar around 5:30 p.m. when employees asked him to leave after he took a photograph of a staff member.
Lucia drove away in a white Jeep Patriot but returned approximately two hours later carrying a gas can and lighter.
Surveillance footage showed Lucia pouring liquid from the gas can near the restaurant’s rear entrance, which was open while patrons and employees were inside, prosecutors said.
Flames erupted shortly afterward. Lucia was seen walking back toward his vehicle and throwing the gas can over a fence onto neighboring property before driving away.
The fire damaged an exterior awning and the restaurant’s kitchen. No injuries were reported.
A witness provided investigators with the Jeep’s license plate number, which authorities determined had been reported stolen a week earlier.
Detectives from the Suffolk County Police Department’s Arson Squad recovered the gas can from the neighboring property and its cap from a flowerpot outside the bar.
An ignitable-liquid detection dog from the Suffolk County Fire Marshal’s Office also alerted investigators to the presence of ignitable liquids at several locations.
Police located Lucia driving the Jeep on Sunrise Highway the following day and arrested him during a traffic stop. Investigators recovered a lighter from the vehicle that prosecutors identified as the one used to start the fire.
“The defendant admitted to intentionally setting fire to a local business, risking the lives of staff and patrons inside,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said.
Lucia pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard Horowitz to second-degree arson, a violent felony, third-degree arson and two misdemeanor counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.
He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 13 and faces up to 10 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.
Photo: Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office
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