A fire at the Spice of India Restaurant, 8398 Market St., directly across from St. Elizabeth Hospital at Market St. and McClurg Rd. gutted the facility early on Tuesday morning.
      Initial reports place damage at an estimated $225,000, even though estimated market value of the site is just $162,410, according to the Mahoning County Auditor’s Office.
      The Metro Arson Task Force and the State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigation the blaze.
      Near 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, no one was at the business, but by 4:10 a.m., a truck driver called 9-1-1 to report the building was on fire.
      A dog trained to sniff for accelerants had been called to the fire site on Tuesday.
      Sources have told The Boardman News that utilities to the business had been cut off recently and the restaurant business may have recently been sold by Rajendra Ingle.
      The most recent owner of the restaurant was reported to be the 39-year-old Ingle. records of Mahoning County list two addresses for Ingle, including 10061 Brushwood Dr., Streetsboro, Oh.; and 31 Carter Circle, apt. 5, Boardman. He is also reported to be the owner of Jewels and More in the Southern Park Mall, and president of ai & international.
      A document obtained by The Boardman News shows on Mar. 30, Boardman police were called to an apartment complex at 7544 market St. where they spoke with Kulvinder Uppal, 35, who said he is the owner of a Sunoco station at 10650 Market St. in North Lima.
      Uppal told police on Mar. 28, 2013, Ingle called him and stated he would kill Ingle, alleging the Ingle had made similar threats to other people he knows, including one person who made a recording of the alleged death threats.
      At the time, according to the document, Uppal told police that Ingle was mad at him because he (Uppal) had helped the former owner of the Spice of India, identified as Gurnek Singh, in a court case against Ingle “regarding money owed.”
      On Apr. 17, 2013, Singh, 31, of 9443 Deer Track Rd., West Chester, Oh., filed suit against Ingle and Spice of India seeking $25,000 in compensatory damages and a breach of contract in which Ingle owned him $20,000.
      According to a court filing, Singh “organized” the Spice of India as a for-profit corporation in Aug., 2011, as the sole owner of stock in the corporation.
      Ingle also claim to have an interest in the corporation, which according to the suit, “is presently in dispute.”
      The suit suggests on May 1, 2012, Singh and Ingle entered into a partnership agreement in which Ingle agreed to purchase 50 per cent of the shares of stock for $50,000. In addition, the purchase stipulated that Singh and Ingle would share in the daily operations of the business---Singh would do the cooking and operate the kitchen area, and Ingle would be in charge of the dining area.
      “Under terms of the partnership agreement, Singh was to be paid a monthly salary of $3000,” according to the court filing, that claims Singh worked at the business for six months “until early December, 2012, when he left after not being paid for many months.”
      In the lawsuit, Singh claimed he received $1200 “for his work” and was still owned $17,000.
      According to the lawsuit, in June, 2012, Singh and Ingle entered into an additional agreement in which Ingle would purchase an additional 40 per cent interest in Spice of India for $40,000.
      Singh claims he was initially paid $20,000, and received no more money for that agreement.
      According to the lawsuit, Singh made “repeated demands” for the $20,000.
      The lawsuit alleges fraud against Ingle and claims as “defacto manager of the restaurant,” Ingle had a legal duty to pay all sales taxes due to the state of Ohio.
      “Upon information and belief,[Ingle and Spice of India] may have failed to pay in all sales, payroll and employment taxes which became due arising from business operations,” claims the lawsuit.
      Singh also argues that he paid the owner of the property, Tzarnas Family Co. LLC $15,000 as a security deposit; and since Ingle was operating the business, he had been “unjustly enriched” for the amount.
      In the lawsuit, Singh demands a copy of all business records.
      “Without a true accounting...Singh will be unable to determine the current financial condition of [Spice of India], or the full extent of assets and liabilities in order to determine the extent of any missing funds,” says the lawsuit.
      A source told The Boardman News that an eviction notice had been served on the business just a few days before the fire broke out, and the Ohio Department of taxation had filed a lien against the business for failing to pay some 41000 in sales tax.
      The Spice of India first opened in 1951 as Neal’s Restaurant, and later was operated as the Town and Country Restaurant.
      Owner of the property, according to court records, is the Tazrnas Family Co. LLC, of 39 Indianola Rd.
      Boardman police records show on Oct. 7, about 13 hours before the fire was reported, Nick Tzarnas called police claiming people were at the business placing merchandise that didn’t belong to them into a U’Haul trailer.
      Tzarnas identified the persons there as “the people who used to run the business.”
      On Sept. 27, court records showed the Tzarnas Family Co. LLC filed suit against Ingle and Spice of India, claiming the company was in arrears on rent.
      A first cause hearing on that matter has been set for Oct. 21.