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Charges of arson and burglary are pending against 35-year-old David A. Osley of Arcadia, Wis., Buffalo County Sheriff Mike Schmidtknecht said.
Investigators questioned Osley about the fire, and he admitted he was involved in the incident, Schmidtknecht said.
Osley was in a Sauk County, Wis., jail Monday awaiting transfer to a state prison to serve a 27-month sentence for felony fifth-offense operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
The Gin Mill fire was “suspicious in nature” and was under investigation since it happened on May 23, 2007, Schmidtknecht said.
An agent from the division of criminal investigation of the Wisconsin Department of Justice inspected the fire scene on the day of the incident and suspected the fire was an arson.
The Gin Mill tavern was torn down soon after the fire.
The tavern, along Chicken Valley Road, featured exotic dancers and served as a clubhouse for the Road Dogs Motorcycle Club.
Tom Drazkowski, a co-owner of the business who lives near the Gin Mill property, spotted the fire and reported it at 7:48 a.m.
Firefighters and investigators suspect the fire started inside the tavern on the floor near a smashed window, where evidence pointed to use of an accelerant to ignite the blaze.
A window also was broken in a metal shed adjacent to the tavern where motorcycles and other property items were stored.
