The two owners of The Station nightclub where 100 people died in a February fire and the
manager of the band whose concert fireworks caused the blaze were
indicted on involuntary manslaughter charges.
Jeffrey Derderian and Michael Derderian, owners of the West Warwick nightclub, and Dan Biechele,
tour manager for the band Great White, were each charged with 100
counts of misdemeanor manslaughter and 100 counts of criminal
negligence, both felonies, according to the Rhode Island Attorney
General’s office.
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The Feb. 20 fire was sparked by pyrotechnics that ignited
flammable foam used as soundproofing on the club’s walls. Within
minutes, the one-story building was engulfed in flames, trapping
many concertgoers inside. Two hundred people were injured.
“The words simply do not exist to describe the intense pain
and immense grief that the victims and their families have
endured in the 10 months since this tragedy occurred,” Rhode
Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch said at a press conference.
None of the band’s members were charged in connection with
the fire. Great White is a heavy metal band that had been popular
in the 1980s with hits like “Rock Me” and “Once Bitten, Twice
Shy.” Great White guitarist Ty Longley died in the fire.
The indictments are the first criminal charges in the fire,
one of the deadliest nightclub disasters in U.S. history. Lynch
met with families of victims before announcing the indictments.
All three men charged have pleaded innocent, Associated
Press reported. An attorney for the Derderians didn’t return a
call from Bloomberg News seeking comment. Attorney Tom Briody
said Biechele isn’t guilty of any crime.
“We are deeply sympathetic to the victims but Mr. Biechele
could not have known of the dangerous conditions that existed
inside of The Station nightclub,” he said.
Bloomberg News
