Update: 46-year-old James Warholak, who’s been behind bars for six months already, will spend another nine in jail. He was sentenced this week to 15 months in total for setting the fire that totaled the Katz Club Diner. Warholak had previously been an employee there before being fired a couple weeks before the blaze. (Cleveland.com)

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Original story: 10/16/2014 — Earlier this week, the NEOMG reported that the alleged arsonist behind the Katz Club Diner fire was a former employee. James Warholak, 46, was fired two months ago, according to Cleveland Heights Police.

The fire, set in the very early morning on October 7 (and captured on surveillance footage), completely decimated the diner’s speakeasy half, inflicting approximately $400,000 worth of damage, via Cleveland Heights prosecutor Tiffany Hill.

Doug Katz hasn’t yet commented on Warholak’s duties, but has relocated all 35 Katz Club employees to the Fire Food & Drink kitchen on Shaker Square, keeping up the catering duties and putting on a brave face. In good news, the diner and kitchen portion weren’t significantly damaged and were diagnosed as “savable.”   

According to county records, Warholak’s court date has not yet been set.   

This article appears in Oct 15-21, 2014.

Sam Allard is a former senior writer at Scene.

3 replies on “Katz Club Diner Arsonist Sentenced to 15 Months in Jail”

  1. Terrible thing to do, as in the course of trying to “get back” at his former employer this jackass likely put others out of work as well. They need to put this F$*$#@ ing idiot into some sort of work program to pay off his damages or take it out of his bank account, home, car – whatever he owns to pay back the damages he’s caused.
    I’m tired of seeing people do these kinds of things and get jail time: where’s the compensation to the injured???

  3. Dear James,

    Thanks for being an a**hole, and taking your little personal vendetta to a point where it impacts everyone else in the community as well. All of us collectively in the city (we got together and talked, yes, everyone did) think you’re a jerk, and we hate your face. Also, this is why we can’t have nice things. Have fun in prison.

    Heart,
    All of us

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