By  Seamus McGraw

November 15, 2006

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NEWARK, N.J. (Crime Library) — It's over.

Nearly seven years after the most deadly dorm fire in New Jersey state history killed three students and left scores of others injured  — some horribly disfigured — two former Seton Hall University students have admitted to setting the blaze as a "prank" and then conspiring to cover it up.

And for that, they could serve as little as 16 months in a state lockup designed to house youthful offenders, under the terms of a plea bargain reached this morning.

Sean Ryan and Joseph LaPore, both now 26, had been facing charges of felony murder and witness tampering, charges that could have landed the pair in prison for the rest of their lives. But moments before their trial was scheduled to begin, the pair accepted a plea bargain, hammered out overnight, and pleaded guilty to third-degree arson and witness tampering.

Superior Court Judge Harold Fullilove set a Jan. 26 sentencing date at which time, under the terms of the deal, the pair will be sentenced to five years, and will be required to spend at least one year and four months in jail before becoming eligible for parole.

The plea marks the first time the pair have publicly admitted any role in the Jan. 19, 2000, blaze that ripped through Boland Hall, a freshman dormitory at Seton Hall.

In a statement in court, LePore admitted that he and Ryan tore down a paper banner that had been hanging in a student lounge on the third floor and set fire to it. The fire ignited a couch in the dormitory — which because of its age was not required to be equipped with a sprinkler system, and as the pair fled, the fire quickly spread.

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See Crime Library Feature Story on Seton Hall Arson Case

Contact Seamus McGraw at seamusm@ptd.net

Seamus McGraw

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