Digital Extra: The Station Fire

01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, February 1, 2006

BY TOM MOONEY
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Eileen DiBonaventura, whose son died in the fire, left the courtroom "disgusted."

Tonda Daniels, who lost a sister, could find only one word to describe her emotions when told the news hours later: "stunned."

But Richard Sanetti, who almost three years ago walked out of the Station nightclub fire that killed his niece, Bridget, and 99 others, posed a question: How much prison time is enough time for anyone culpable for the fire to bring back even one life?

"Any lesson anybody had to learn from it has already been learned," he said. "All this criminal activity isn't going to bring anybody back."

Yesterday, in a courtroom packed with lawyers and reporters from around the region, a judge announced state prosecutors had reached a plea agreement with Daniel M. Biechele -- the man who lit the pyrotechnics that February night in 2003 that burned an old restaurant and caused one of the worst fires of its kind in U.S. history.

Besides the 100 who died, 236 were injured and countless lives changed forever.

In exchange for the guilty plea, Biechele, the former tour manager for the rock band Great White, will serve no more than 10 years in prison, said Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr.

Biechele was not in the courtroom yesterday; he is scheduled to formally enter his plea on Tuesday.

During the last three years, DiBonaventura, of North Dighton, has closely followed the criminal cases against Biechele and the club's co-owners, Jeffrey A. and Michael A. Derderian. All three were charged with 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Yesterday she denounced Biechele's proposed sentence agreement as "a mere slap on the wrist."

"This man, by his hand, 100 people died and his sentence is 10 years?" she said outside the courthouse. "My son is in a grave."

Andrea Silva, whose uncle, Thomas Medeiros, died in the fire, was equally disappointed with the plea agreement.

"I'm glad he's taking ownership for it, but I wish it was more time," she said.

How much more time, Silva said she didn't know.

"All I know is these people who died, they were young. My uncle was 40. How many years did they lose? Obviously he [Biechele] couldn't serve all those years, but 10 years seems so little when you think about it. In 10 years, our loved ones won't be back but he'll still be here."

Several relatives of victims who have been vocal in the past chose not to comment yesterday when reached, some expressing resignation that no matter how the cases are resolved, it would not soothe their loss.

Sanetti, of Coventry, said it would be appropriate if Biechele ended up serving about five years in prison, but he would hope that at least Jeffrey Derderian would do more than 10 years behind bars.

Jeffrey Derderian was a television reporter at the time. On the night of the fire, his TV station had a cameraman in the club, shooting footage for a piece Derderian was doing on building safety.

"I'm not sure locking these guys up for a lifetime is an answer," Sanetti said.

From his bench yesterday, Darigan said, "It is important to understand that in engaging in a plea agreement, both the state and the defendant have given up substantial rights in forgoing the trial of this case. This agreement on sentencing parameters has been reached in an effort to successfully conclude this aspect of this most sorrowful and tragic case."

tmooney@projo.com / (401) 277-7359