Former Janitor May Owe Restitution for Causing New Jersey School Fire

A municipal judge has postponed deciding whether a former janitor will have to pay restitution for smoking inside a central New Jersey school that was destroyed by fire.

The Home News Tribune reports Judge Gary Price on Tuesday said he thought it would be appropriate to make Jerome Higgins pay.

But the judge delayed making a decision for at least 90 days because of pending lawsuits by the Edison school district against its insurance company and the insurer’s suit against Higgins.

Higgins was fined $200 for smoking at James Madison Elementary School and tossing the unfinished cigarette into a trash can, sparking the blaze that gutted the 50-year-old school in March.

He retired last summer.