A man who set fire to Groton-based submarine at a Maine shipyard has been sentenced to prison for a little more than 17 years and was ordered today to pay $400 million in restitution.
Casey Fury was a civilian employee working as a painter and sandblaster aboard the U.S.S. Miami when he set the fire.
He told investigators that he set a smaller fire after he became anxious over text messages with his girlfriend and wanted to leave work early, according to court documents.
Fury originally denied setting the large fire, according to the criminal complaint that Seacost Online posted on its Web site, but admitted to setting the second smaller fire.
Later, when Fury took a polygraph test, he admitted to setting the larger fire after becoming anxious, according to court documents.
The submarine has been in dry dock for an overhaul at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in in Kittery. The fire was reported at 5:30 p.m. on May 23 and firefighters worked for 12 hours to extinguish the flames.
Court documents state that Fury was assigned to do paint stripping in the torpedo room. He first denied involvement in the fires, then later admitted involvement.
Estimates put the damage at $400 million.
