Man Charged With Camdenton Apartment Arson Had Threatened To Burn Down Tan-Tar-A/Margaritaville, Authorities Say

CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. — Authorities say a man who threw a “flaming object” into the apartments in the former Five 81 Motel had been in a fight with his girlfriend and told her he wanted to die. He also reportedly had threatened to burn down Tan-Tar-A Resort/Margaritaville.

Rocco Vaglica, of Camdenton, is charged with Arson (Class B Felony), and was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 18.

According to the probable cause document for his arrest, Vaglica was seen outside the apartment by one of the residents, the morning of the fire. The witness said Vaglica was holding a flaming object in his hand that he then threw into a window of the building. She told authorities Vaglica then yelled, “Fire!” and she helped alert other residents to the fire, according to the document. Meanwhile, she reportedly told authorities, Vaglica walked away, toward the nearby gas station.

Another witness, identified as “CS,” told authorities she and Vaglica had been fighting recently and that his mental state had changed. The witness reportedly said on the morning of the fire Vaglica had woken her up at 3:30 a.m. and thought she was cheating on him. At that time, she said Vaglica told her to leave the apartment he needed to die and he would burn the place down even if it meant killing himself and CS, according to the document.

A few days earlier, authorities say the Camden County Sheriff’s Office took a report from employees at Tan-Tar-A Resort that Vaglica had left a voicemail wanting to know about a woman’s working hours there “and if it wasn’t right he would burn it down.”