WASHINGTON, D.C.-U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a member of both the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, applauded the efforts of US Attorney Thomas Delahanty and his staff, as well as investigators from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and staff from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, to identify and bring to justice the individual responsible for the devastating fire onboard the USS MIAMI in late May.

“I applaud the combined local, state, and federal response to the fire onboard the USS MIAMI, as well as the joint investigation that resulted from the incident.  Because of the courage of firefighters from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and across New England, the MIAMI was saved from being completely engulfed in fire and it will sail again,” said Senator Collins.  “During the investigation, it became clear that arson was involved, and the case against him was meticulously built in a team effort by Navy investigators, NCIS, other federal agencies, and the US Attorney.”

Casey Fury pled guilty today in Federal Court to two counts of arson and will be sentenced within the next several months.  He faces a fine of up to $250,000 on each count and between 15-20 years in prison.

During consideration of the Fiscal Year 2013 Defense Appropriations bill, Senator Collins led efforts to include an additional $150 million in the Senate's bill for Miami repairs, and was supportive of a separate request from the Department of Defense to reprogram FY12 funding for the Miami.  

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