Judge Refuses To Dismiss Manslaughter Charges In GREAT WHITE Nightclub Fire

The Associated Press has issued the following report:

A judge on Monday refused to dismiss any of the manslaughter counts against the three men charged criminally in a 2003 nightclub fire that killed 100 people.

The decision by Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. means that prosecutors can proceed with all 200 counts in their case against nightclub owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian and former GREAT WHITE tour manager Daniel Biechele.

The Feb. 20, 2003, fire inside The Station nightclub in West Warwick spread when pyrotechnics by the rock band GREAT WHITE ignited flammable soundproofing foam around the stage.

The Derderians and Biechele have each pleaded innocent to 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter.

In October, lawyers for the three defendants appeared in court to ask Darigan to dismiss 100 of the 200 counts in the indictment. They expanded on that request last month when they accused prosecutors of withholding evidence that they believe helps their case.

The 100 counts challenged by defense lawyers accuse Biechele and the Derderians of committing misdemeanor offenses that led to the 100 deaths. Eight people who died either lived or worked in Connecticut.

Prosecutors allege the Derderians violated the fire code by using non flame-resistant foam and that Biechele set off pyrotechnics without obtaining a permit. Defense lawyers argued that those misdemeanors can not serve as the legal basis for a manslaughter conviction.

The Derderians also said fire officials failed to tell them that their foam violated the state fire code, but Darigan ruled that there is "nothing regarding notice or opportunity to cure in the general penalty statute."

The judge wrote that "misdemeanor manslaughter is not a crime of specific intent" and said the Derderians would have been charged with murder if they had intended to harm or kill the victims.

Kathleen Hagerty, a lawyer for the Derderians, did not immediately return a call for comment.

The defense lawyers renewed their dismissal motion last month after receiving an eight-page fax from foam salesman Barry Warner that said American Foam Corp., which sold the Derderians their insulating foam, did not warn customers of the dangers of their product. The company's general manager has said Warner's claims are not true.

The lawyers said the fax, which Warner sent to prosecutors anonymously in May 2003 but admitted writing last month, bolstered their case and should have been presented to the grand jury.

Darigan denied that the fax was favorable to the defense case and said prosecutors did not do anything wrong by keeping it from the grand jury.

"Neither the Fax nor the subsequent interview with Warner revealed information regarding concealment; no specific company policy requiring or encouraging affirmative misrepresentation or deceit has been identified," Darigan wrote.

Michael Healey, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, had no immediate comment.

The other 100 counts charge the defendants with involuntary manslaughter resulting from criminal negligence.