GREAT WHITE: Station Club Owners Sentenced In 2003 Fatal Fire

September 29, 2006

MTV.com reports that the two brothers who owned and operated the Rhode Island nightclub where a fire killed 100 concertgoers in 2003 were sentenced Friday (September 29) — but only one will serve time behind bars.

According to The Associated Press, relatives of the victims killed in the Station nightclub fire responded with outrage and berated Judge Francis Darigan when he sentenced Michael Derderian to serve four years in minimum-security prison; Jeffrey was spared any hard time.

The sentences were the result of plea bargains announced last week. The Derderians pleaded no contest to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter for their roles in the blaze that was sparked by onstage pyrotechnics during a performance by GREAT WHITE. The pyrotechnics ignited highly flammable soundproofing foam, and the fire spread quickly. GREAT WHITE guitarist Ty Longley was among those who perished in the fire.

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