Arlington Heights murder victim's family sues for faked-death plot
Every day, Donna FioRito wakes up and looks at a photograph of her son. And for a split second she forgets everything that happened.
"I just can't believe it," she said. "I want justice for my son. He had his whole life ahead of him."
In February, FioRito's 20-year-old son, Justin Newman of Arlington Heights, was murdered in what authorities say was a scheme by a Lake Barrington man to get rich by cashing in an insurance policy.
FioRito, along with her other son, Frank Testa III, filed a civil lawsuit Thursday against the Lake Barrington man and his wife.
The family is seeking at least $10 million in damages.
Authorities said Ari Squire, 40, a construction contractor, killed Newman and tried to make it appear that Newman's body was actually his own -- all in an attempt to collect a $5 million insurance policy.
On Feb. 23, authorities said Squire convinced Newman to come to his home with the promise of a better paying job. At the time, Newman worked the 4 a.m. to 1 p.m. shift at a Home Depot in Lake Zurich.
In Squire's garage, he drugged Newman and then crushed his unconscious body with a pickup truck, according to authorities.
Before killing Newman, Squire switched clothes with him and took his identification and cell phone, police said. Then he set the garage on fire, which burned the body beyond recognition.
Squire then fled to Missouri and assumed Newman's identity, police said, leaving a paper trail of credit card charges to make it seem like Newman was still alive. Squire also colored his hair brown and used blue contact lenses to look more like Newman, according to police.
During this time, Squire also text-messaged Newman's family pretending to be Newman, telling them he would be back in a week, FioRito's attorney, Jon Loevy, said at a news conference Thursday in Chicago announcing the suit.
"He thought the world would think Ari Squire was dead," Loevy said.
But police caught up with Squire at a hotel in Eureka, Mo., where he'd rented a room under Newman's name. Police there checked the license plate of the car Squire was driving and it came up as Newman's missing car. When police knocked on Squire's hotel room, he shot and killed himself.
The lawsuit asserts that Squire's wife, Denise, helped her husband after he killed Newman. Denise Squire has not been criminally charged in connection with the case, nor has she been accused by authorities of any wrongdoing.
Loevy asserts that Ari and Denise Squire e-mailed and spoke with each other by phone between the time of Ari Squire's faked and actual death. Denise Squire also, Loevy said, planned a "memorial" service for her husband. About 120 people attended the event at a Skokie restaurant, according to the complaint.
"My son is in a urn and (Denise Squire is) still here," FioRito said. "It doesn't make sense."
Denise Squire could not be reached for comment Thursday. After Newman's death, she told some media outlets that she was not involved in Newman's death.
The civil lawsuit filed on Thursday is different than a criminal trial where the prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In a civil suit, Loevy must prove a preponderance of evidence.
"The Squires were living in a big house in Lake Barrington," Loevy said. "What possessed them to be so greedy is mind-boggling."
Squire was convicted in U.S. District Court in Chicago in 2005 of overbilling Medicare for $838,920 through a company he ran named AccuCare Inc.
Testa, 22, said he continues to grieve the loss of his only brother.
"We would go fishing in the summer and now I'm left without a brother," Testa said Thursday. "I know he's in a better place."