Digital Extra: The Station Fire

Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch yesterday said there is no substance to accusations that state prosecutors concealed evidence from the state grand jury that indicted three men in connection with the West Warwick Station nightclub fire that killed 100 people, and asserted that there is no reason to dismiss any charges.

Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, owners of The Station nightclub, last week asked a judge to dismiss 200 counts each of involuntary manslaughter, saying state prosecutors withheld information that they believe is favorable to their case.

The Feb. 20, 2003, fire was started by indoor fireworks during a performance by the rock band Great White. The pyrotechnics ignited highly flammable soundproofing foam on the building's walls and ceiling. More than 200 people were injured.

The Derderians have said they did not know the foam was flammable when they bought it from Johnston-based American Foam Corp., or that it violated the state fire code.

Earlier this month, prosecutors turned over a fax sent to them anonymously in May 2003 that claimed American Foam did not warn customers about the foam's flammable qualities.

Barry Warner, an ex-salesman at American Foam who sold the foam to the Derderians, admitted to prosecutors this month that he wrote the fax. The company's general manager has said Warner's claims are not true.

The Derderians' lawyers said the eight-page fax supports their case and accused prosecutors of withholding evidence.

But in a strongly worded response filed yesterday, prosecutors said they never claimed that Warner or American Foam told the Derderians the foam was flammable. They pointed out that the president of the company, Aram DerManouelian, told the grand jury the company did not give customers detailed information about the materials used in the foam unless they asked for it.

They also said Warner testified before the grand jury that he did not warn the Derderians about the flammability of the foam.

Prosecutors said they gave grand jurors the relevant evidence to consider and argued that accusations of withheld evidence are inaccurate and unfair.

"It would have been both professionally irresponsible and legally unsound for prosecutors to have introduced the unattributed hearsay and innuendo contained in the fax to the grand jury," the prosecutors wrote.

Daniel Biechele, ex-tour manager for Great White, whose pyrotechnics set off the fire, also faces 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter. He joined the Derderians' motion to dismiss the indictments last week.

The Derderians had already sought to throw out the indictments, but their lawyers expanded on that request last Monday -- more than a week after receiving a copy of Warner's faxed note.

With reports from the Associated Press