Aide to band pleads guilty in deadly R.I. club fire
PROVIDENCE -- As dozens of relatives of the dead solemnly watched, Daniel M. Biechele pleaded guilty yesterday to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter, one for each person who died after he lit fireworks that ignited the deadly Station nightclub fire in 2003.
Biechele, 29, former tour manager to the band Great White, yesterday made formal his decision to plead guilty in exchange for a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. A Providence Superior Court associate justice, Francis J. Darigan Jr., is scheduled to sentence Biechele, who lives in Florida and who remains free on bail, on May 8.
Yesterday was the first time many relatives of those who died in the fire saw Biechele, who wore a tan suit and kept his hands clasped in front of him during the hearing. Biechele's own family sat behind him in the courtroom, packed with victims' relatives who were carrying pictures of the dead.
Many of the family members craned their heads to get a look at Biechele as he walked into the courtroom behind his three lawyers.
Darigan had warned relatives who had crowded into the courtroom, sitting tightly packed on wooden benches, that they must refrain from outbursts at the hearing, and they obliged.
After the hearing, which lasted less than 30 minutes, many of the victims' family members said they were gratified to see someone take responsibility for the horrific fire. But even more said they were outraged that his sentence would not exceed 10 years.
Some relatives left the courthouse weeping after a closed-door meeting with the Rhode Island attorney general, Patrick C. Lynch, that took place after Biechele's plea. A spokesman for Lynch, Michael J. Healey, described the meeting as contentious. ''How do you say to someone who has lost a loved one 'this is the best we can do'?" Healey said.
''How do I even explain it to my grandson that his mother's life is worth 10 years?" asked Diane Mattera, who held a photo in the court of her late daughter, Tammy Mattera-Housa. ''How do you explain it to any of these children that lost one or both parents?"
Lynch, later speaking to reporters, said he could not imagine the ''depth of the pain and suffering" of the victims' families. He said it is impossible for the legal system to offer closure for the grieving, but he hoped Biechele's decision to accept responsibility could provide the families ''small measures of solace and finality."
''Mr. Biechele's admission of guilt eliminates the need for a lengthy trial in which graphic, emotional testimony . . . would be presented," Lynch said. ''His plea provides a sure resolution to the state's case against him, and it spares the victims from the agony of reliving the events that preceded the death and led to the death of their loved ones."
Biechele's plea also meant that he would be a key prosecution witness in any trial involving the owners of The Station, brothers Michael A. and Jeffrey A. Derderian. In accepting responsibility for his role in the fire, Biechele's plea also means that he agrees with prosecutors' version of events.
Assistant Attorney General Randall White said yesterday that Michael Derderian, who, like his brother, is charged with 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter, had given Biechele permission to light the fireworks for Great White's performance in a phone conversation.
As the band started the first song on the night of Feb. 20, 2003, the fireworks ignited highly flammable foam that had been placed around the stage as soundproofing. The club became an inferno and the temperature in much of the building reached 1,800 degrees within 90 seconds, according to a report by fire specialists.
Michael Derderian's laywers have denied that he had agreed to the fireworks; yesterday his lawyer, Kathleen Hagerty, could not be reached for comment. No dates have been set yet for their trials.
Lynch would say little yesterday about the cases against the Derderians, who are being tried separately, but he said that Biechele's plea helps the prosecutors in those cases.
In court yesterday, as the judge led Biechele through his guilty plea, Biechele agreed to waive his rights against self-incrimination, allowing him to testify against the Derderians.
''Are you entering into this plea knowingly, willingly, and voluntarily?" Darigan asked him.
''Yes, your honor," Biechele said softly.
Biechele's guilty plea will result in the first conviction in the criminal cases brought after the fire in West Warwick, R.I. Biechele had been charged with 200 counts of manslaughter, two for each person killed in the fire.
Although prosecutors brought two charges per death, which would have allowed jurors to convict Biechele on either of two legal theories of manslaughter, Biechele could have been sentenced only on one count for each person who died in the fire.
In Rhode Island, each charge of involuntary manslaughter, a felony, carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
Now that Biechele has pleaded guilty, his lawyers and prosecutors will make recommendations to Darigan about the length of his sentence. Relatives of those killed will also have a chance to submit statements, written or read aloud in court, about how their losses have affected their lives, financially, emotionally and physically.
Biechele and the Derderians were indicted by a grand jury about 10 months after the fire.
Hundreds of relatives of those who died have also filed civil cases.
Those cases involve a host of defendants, and seek monetary damages for their losses.
As Biechele walked into the courtroom yesterday and stood facing the judge, some relatives of the fire victims were struck by his youthful appearance.
''I just looked at him and said, 'Oh, my gosh, he's so young,' " said Diane Dooley of Cohasset, whose brother, Bud Howorth, died in the fire. ''He had his whole life ahead of him."
Kathleen Burge can be reached at kburge@globe.com 