TOMS RIVER – A Berkeley Township man has been charged in connection with a deliberately set fire outside a Toms River fitness center, authorities said.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that Joseph Mansueto, 38, faces charges of aggravated arson and criminal mischief following a blaze reported in the early morning hours of February 8 at the Planet Fitness on Route 37.
Police and firefighters from Toms River were dispatched shortly before 4 a.m. after a report of a structure fire. First responders found flames limited to the exterior of the building, and the fire was quickly contained without spreading inside.
Investigators later determined the fire began at the southwest corner of the building and was intentionally ignited using an open flame on combustible materials. A multi-agency probe ultimately identified Mansueto as the person responsible, prosecutors said.
Mansueto was taken into custody the following day by officers from the Beachwood Police Department and transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he remains held pending a detention hearing.
Billhimer credited investigators from the county prosecutor’s arson squad, local police and fire officials, the county fire marshal’s K-9 unit, and the sheriff’s office crime scene team for their work on the case.
