Owner charged with burning down Jerzeez diner for insurance money

VERNON — Authorities say a New Jersey diner owner has been charged with burning down the restaurant to collect insurance money.

The New Jersey Herald reports that Tina Diakos was arrested and charged Friday with setting the March 8 fire at Jerzeez the Diner in Vernon.

Authorities say she told an acquaintance that she would burn the restaurant down because "she wasn't going to lose all her money again."

Her attorney declined to comment before her next scheduled court appearance Monday. She is being held in the Sussex County jail on $75,000 bail.

Diakos was previously charged with witness tampering after authorities say she asked someone to search the Internet for "combustibles" and tell police they didn't know each other in exchange for money.

Also on New Jersey 101.5:

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.