MADISON, Wis. -- Two brothers who were given a key to a South Range bar and told to burn it down pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to attempted arson charges.
The Somewhere Else Bar, 3342 County Highway E, South Range, burned down the next day, but Shawn and Antoine Dalbec aren't responsible, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Przybylinski Finn.
Shawn Dalbec, 45, told authorities that the owner of Somewhere Else Bar, a person identified in court documents as "Individual A," hired him to burn down the South Range landmark in exchange for an $8,000 contract to restore a ball field. Antoine Dalbec, 44 admitted in court Thursday, to driving his brother to the bar after it closed on July 11, 2006, knowing that Shawn would go inside and start a fire.
Shawn Dalbec told District Judge Barbara Crabb that he went into the empty bar and used a lighter to ignite paneling in the women's bathroom but then put it out because he "didn't want to get involved in that."
After Shawn Dalbec returned to the vehicle, Antoine Dalbec sent a text message to Individual A stating the fire went out and he refused to light it, Finn said. "We're not doing it. Get someone else," Finn said, quoting text messages recovered in the case.
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Despite "begging" by Individual A to go back inside and finish the job, the Dalbecs left, Finn said.
The bar burned down the next day. It was a total loss and the investigation into who may be responsible continues, Finn said.
In exchange for their guilty pleas to conspiracy to endanger a dwelling that didn't involve injuries, the government will recommend a 21-month prison sentence for Antoine Dalbec and a two-year sentence for Shawn Dalbec at an Oct. 22 hearing.
The men each faced five-year mandatory minimum sentences under indictments returned against them earlier this year.
Crabb continued the brothers' release on conditions until sentencing.
