Daniel M. Biechele, 29, the former Great White tour manager, is scheduled to be sentenced May 8 in a proceeding that could take several days.

01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, April 19, 2006

BY TRACY BRETON
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch is recommending that Daniel M. Biechele, the former Great White tour manager, be sentenced to serve 10 years in prison for setting off the pyrotechnics that caused the catastrophic fire at The Station nightclub -- the maximum Biechele can be ordered to serve based on a plea-agreement ironed out two months ago.

In a memo submitted late Monday to Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr., Lynch recommends that Biechele -- who has pleaded guilty to 100 charges of involuntary manslaughter for setting off fireworks without a license -- be given a 15-year sentence, with 10 years to serve, and five years' probation following his release.

Biechele, 29, who currently resides in Florida, is scheduled to be sentenced May 8 in a proceeding that is expected to take several days. Family members of victims who died in the Feb. 20, 2003, fire are expected to testify at the hearing. The court is also accepting written victim-impact statements from the more than 200 people who suffered injuries in the fire, which the judge can consider in fashioning a sentence.

Biechele has no prior record, has cooperated with law enforcement since the night of the fire and has accepted full responsibility for his criminal acts, saving the state the expense and the victims' survivors the heartbreak of a trial, Lynch concedes.

But in a 26-page sentencing memorandum presented to Darigan, Lynch and three of his prosecutors argue that Biechele deserves the maximum allowable sentence under the plea deal.

"It is the reckless and irresponsible nature of the defendant's conduct that . . . should drive the court's ultimate sentencing decision," the prosecutors say. Biechele committed an "unconscionably reckless and irresponsible act of igniting pyrotechnic explosives in a tiny, overcrowded nightclub," says Lynch. "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."

In the court papers, Lynch and his prosecutors concede that Beichele did not intend to harm or kill anyone. They also do not contest Biechele's representation that he was unaware that the walls of the nightclub had been covered with highly flammable polyurethane foam as soundproofing.

But they say he should serve a decade behind bars because of the extent of the harm that he caused -- and because records he allowed investigators to fetch from his laptop computer prove that he knew of the dangers of pyrotechnics, knew that various states required permits or "local shooters" to set them off, but never got any training in the use of fireworks nor applied for a permit to use them at The Station.

Before beginning work with Great White in late 2002, Biechele worked for eight years as tour manager for another 1980s "metal" band, W.A.S.P., which also used fireworks at several of its live performances, the prosecutors point out. They noted that Biechele had no formal training in pyrotechnics.

In their sentencing memo, they note that while working for W.A.S.P., Biechele developed a business relationship with a man named Randy Bast, who worked for a special-effects company. They say that three years before the Station fire, Bast sent Biechele a letter advising him that if he were to carry fireworks on tours, certain jurisdictions required permits or "local shooters" to be on site.

While this evidence does not prove that Biechele knew about Rhode Island fireworks laws, Bast's letter and others stored on Biechele's laptop compel "the conclusion that the defendant knew enough about varying state requirements that he should have inquired about them before igniting the pyrotechnics at The Station," the prosecutors argue.

They say that Biechele's failure to familiarize himself with Rhode Island law "appears to have been done in willful disregard of those requirements rather than in simple ignorance thereof."

When he appeared before Darigan on Feb. 7 and pleaded guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter, Biechele said that Michael Derderian, who owned The Station with his brother, Jeffrey, had given him permission to use fireworks inside the nightclub.

The Derderians have each been charged with 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter, under two different theories of law. Both have pleaded not guilty. The brothers will be tried separately, beginning July 31. Court documents indicate that Biechele will be a witness for the prosecution at the Derderians' trials.

tbreton@projo.com/(401) 277-7362