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Family-run Brown Deer business nearly destroyed by arson

Posted at 9:43 PM, Jun 11, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-11 23:12:23-04

A family-run business that should be looking forward to celebrating a major milestone is instead recovering from a suspicious fire.

Investigators are looking into whether the suspect in this arson has set other blazes.

"A section of it was burned," said Deb Anguil, the chief operating officer at Anguil.

Walking through the main floor of Anguil just how much has to be rebuilt from what started as a small fire.

"Then you find out a million dollars later between everything. That's the part no one expected," said president Chris Anguil.

The Anguil business was built by Gene Gnguil. He started the company in 1978 with money mortgaged from the family's home. He put on a suit and tie every day to sit in a back bedroom trying to drum up work. 

"With 5 children I could just about afford to keep bread on the table," said CEO Gene Anguil.

He turned Anguil into an international environmental engineering company in Brown Deer with 80 employees. It's now run by his two children Chris and Deb Anguil.

The night of February 10th, the business caught fire. There are soot marks still on the floor of the concrete.

According to a criminal complaint, Jordan Kubasiak of Saukville, who was then an employee, spent that afternoon at Potawatomi Casino and then drove to Anguil that evening. 

Court documents said cash was missing from an employee's office along with a couple cell phones. That's where two separate fires were set. 

"What destroyed the rest of the building was water and all the soot," said Deb Anguil.

Law enforcement records show Kubasiak has been questioned in several recent arson cases. One in 2016 in Mequon and three last year in Mequon and Saukville. He has never faced charges in those cases.

The Anguil family said they choose not to focus on what could have become of their business as they keep working in somewhat interesting conditions including out of the company's gym and some trailers out back.

"A lot of damage and displacement of people and time. It's a crazy situation," said Chris Anguil.

Instead, they are looking forward to making it to 40 years in August.

"At the end of the day we are moving on is how we are looking at it," said Chris Anguil.