Digital Extra: The Station Fire

06:13 PM EDT on Tuesday, April 18, 2006

By TRACY BRETON

PROVIDENCE -- Atty. Gen. Patrick C. Lynch is recommending that the former Great White band manager be sentenced to serve 10 years in prison for setting off pyrotechnics that caused the catastrophic fire at The Station nightclub -- the maximum he can be ordered to serve based on a plea-agreement the defendant entered into with prosecutors two months ago.

In a memo submitted late yesterday to Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr., Lynch recommends that Daniel M. Biechele, who has pleaded guilty to 100 charges of involuntary manslaughter, be given a 15-year sentence with 10 years to serve, and that he be placed on five years' probation upon release from prison. Biechele is scheduled to be sentenced May 8.

Lynch, in a press statement released today, said that even though Biechele has accepted responsibility for his actions and has no prior criminal record, he should be ordered to serve the maximum sentence allowed in the plea agreement.

"I recognize that the court faces the difficult task of fashioning a sentence for a defendant who -- but for the unconscionably reckless and irresponsible act of igniting pyrotechnic explosives in a tiny, overcrowded nightclub --has no prior criminal history, has accepted criminal responsibility for his actions, and has cooperated with law enforcement, beginning almost immediately after the tragic fire began."

However, said Lynch, "It is the reckless and irresponsible nature of the defendant's conduct...that I believe should drive the court's ultimate sentencing decision. Mr. Biechele's actions contributed to the deaths of 100 unsuspecting and innocent people. He acted callously, carelessly, irresponsibly and criminally. The extent of harm that his conduct caused is incalculable and everlasting. Those left behind will never again experience the lives, laughter, wisdom and love of their loved ones. For these reasons, Mr. Biechele should serve the maximum prison term that could be fashioned in this case."

In his statement, Lynch said expressed sorrow for all of the victims' survivors but said "our resolve to see this case, and the cases of Mr. Biechele's co-defendants through to justice, remains deeper."

Biechele's co-defendants, Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, the owners of The Station, have each pleaded not-guilty to 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter and are to be tried separately, beginning July 31.

The Feb. 20, 2003, fire at the West Warwick club killed 100 people and injured about 200.