Ex-Waukegan mayoral candidate charged with 2 arsons, one fatal
A former Waukegan mayoral candidate has been charged with arson in Waukegan and Ontario, Canada, in connection with two building fires — one of which left a woman dead.
Gregory D. Flesher, 48, of the 2500 block of Chestnut Street in Waukegan, is charged with setting the fire that burned down a former Salvation Army building at 133 S. Genesee St. on May 4.
He was also charged with attempted arson and felony criminal damage to property for attempting to set fire to a building at 224 Washington on May 11, only blocks away from the Salvation Army fire. Police said he used fireworks in both cases.
Flesher, who owns Flesher Plastering Co., ran as a Republican candidate for mayor in 2009, finishing a distant third. Last year he ran for a seat on the Lake County Board as a write-in candidate.
Waukegan Police Department investigators settled on Flesher as a prime suspect, but they discovered he had gone to Canada days after the second incident.
Local authorities contacted police in Ontario and learned they were investigating a May 19 arson that burned a four-unit apartment building in Sault Ste. Marie, killing a 48-year-old woman. Flesher was a suspect in that blaze as well, they learned.
A joint investigation was launched between Waukegan and Canadian police, as well as the FBI, officials said.
Evidence recovered and interviews of witnesses were consistent in each case, authorities said, with each pointing to Flesher.
Flesher, after the fire in Canada, returned to the Waukegan area and was arrested by police on Tuesday.
Authorities said Flesher gave a full statement to detectives regarding his involvement in the fires. That information was shared with Canadian police.
Aside from the charges here, police in Ontario have charged Flesher with homicide and arson and are pursuing extradition.
Flesher is being held at the Lake County jail on $2.5 million bail.
“I am also very proud of all officers involved in this case and the teamwork between the Waukegan Police Department, Waukegan Fire Department, the Canadian authorities, and the FBI,” said Waukegan Police Chief Daniel Greathouse in a news release.
About three years ago, Flesher made an offer to buy the Salvation Army building in Waukegan, according to Jorge Torres of Forever Construction, the property owner.
Torres said Flesher told him he wanted to open a bar across the street and use the Salvation Army property as a parking lot.
Flesher's initial offer was rejected, and both sides continued negotiations until the market dropped, Torres said.
In 1974, Flesher and his father converted a separate Salvation Army warehouse at Sheridan Road and Water Street in Waukegan into a commercial office for Flesher Plastering and EC Daver, a contracting company, according to a biography on Flesher's campaign website.
Flesher's biography also states he previously served on the Waukegan Development Commission, Clark Elementary School PTO, and YMCA Camp Jorn board of directors.