WARWICK -- Over many victims' strenuous objections, a Superior Court judge yesterday accepted no-contest pleas from the owners of The Station nightclub where a fire claimed 100 lives and injured more than 200. Michael A. Derderian, one of the defendants, was immediately taken to the Adult Correctional Institutions to begin serving a four-year prison sentence, while his brother, Jeffrey, went home to spend the night with his family.

Over the objections of Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. accepted a plea agreement that the governor criticized last night as being too lenient.

In their first statements to the fire victims in 3 1/2 years, the Derderians apologized to the victims and their families for their roles in causing so many deaths and injuries.

Weeping, Jeffrey A. Derderian, 39, told the packed courtroom, "There are many days when I wish I didn't make it out of that building because if I didn't maybe some families would feel better . . . To those families, I'm sorry that I did make it out. I know you would have liked it if I died, too.

He told the court: "I hear the screams, the breaking glass, and the terror from that night in my head. The images of people fighting for their lives plays over and over in my head, leaving me to wonder what more I could have done to help that night."

The Derderians each pleaded no contest to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter for installing highly flammable polyurethane soundproofing foam in their nightclub -- foam that did not meet state fire code standards and that quickly caught fire when the tour manager for the rock band Great White set off pyrotechnics on the stage the night of Feb. 20, 2003.

"Regarding the foam, I wish I knew how deadly and toxic it really was," Jeffrey Derderian said. "I take responsibility for believing it was OK, when in fact it fueled a fire that consumed the building in approximately three minutes."

He told the victims that he planned to spend the 500 hours of court-ordered community service teaching others about fire safety and "volunteering in a burn unit so I can see firsthand what victims of fire go through every single day."

Michael Derderian, 45, who was in Florida the night of the fire but who -- according to the judge -- played a bigger role than his brother in the purchase of the deadly foam, told the court that "I also want to say I am sorry for not asking more questions about the deadly and toxic foam that we hung on the walls of our business." In purchasing the soundproofing foam, "we were trying to respond to our neighbors' needs as part of the community," he said.

"So many times," he said, "I have looked back and in hindsight wished we had never hung the foam at all, or that we had never bought this business."

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

Jeffrey Derderian, center right, reacts as he, his brother Michael, center left, and their lawyers listen to the victim impact statements today.

THE BROTHERS' APOLOGIES followed more than four hours of wrenching statements from fathers, mothers, daughters, fiancées, sisters, sister-in-laws, brother-in-laws, an aunt and a brother of the victims who died in the fire, and an eleventh-hour plea from Assistant Attorney General William Ferland to the judge to send both brothers to prison.

Ferland said that while prosecutors agreed that the defendants had not engaged in a "diabolic scheme" to cause deaths and that the victims' deaths in this case were "unintentional . . . the buck must stop with the owner."

The owners of a place of public assembly have a responsibility to make sure it is "as safe as possible" and sending both of the brothers to prison would send a message to other nightclub owners nationwide who might consider cutting corners, the prosecutor argued.

In papers submitted to the court, Lynch's office argues that the Derderians both deserved more time in prison than Daniel M. Biechele, the Great White tour manager who set off the fireworks. Biechele is serving four years in the ACI's minimum-security work-release program -- the same prison term the judge imposed on Michael Derderian.

In their papers, prosecutors say that it was Michael Derderian who purchased the deadly foam. But they say both should serve prison terms because neither of them ever "asked for objective proof that the foam that they bought and installed was flame resistant or otherwise satisfied the Rhode Island Fire Safety Code." And, they say, both affixed the toxic, flammable foam to the walls and ceiling of their nightclub "using a spray adhesive."

"The evidence adduced at trial would actually have shown that, at various times between the installation of the foam in and around June 2000, and February 2003, portions of the foam separated from the interior walls of the nightclub." And when that happened, the prosecutors say, "at the defendants' instruction, employees used spray adhesive to reattach the foam to the walls."

The prosecutors also say in their filing that while the Derderians contend it was the fire inspector's fault for failing to alert them during inspections to the dangers of the foam in their nightclub, they never asked West Warwick town officials whether the foam they had purchased and installed conformed with fire-safety laws.

DARIGAN SAID HE was imposing different sentences for each brother because in his view, "there is a different level of culpability between the actions of the two defendants" relating to the purchase and installation of the foam.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

Paula McMcLaughlin, left, sister of fire victim Michael Hoogasian, her mother, Claire Hoogasian, and husband, Jay McLaughlin, made their feelings plain, spurring a brief recess.

He told the victims and their families, "There has been much controversy and public finger-pointing about who said or did what in the plea negotiation sessions which resulted in the court's decision to accept the pleas of the defendants here today." But, he said, it is not important "what the parties did or did not agree to or in fact who did or did not recommend or suggest the sentences . . . What is important and critical to the process is that this court is the sentencing authority in all criminal cases, and has the right and the final responsibility to impose sentences in these cases."

With a phalanx of 17 court security officers standing guard as he spoke, the judge said the plea negotiations that resulted in the sentencing had been "engaged in over a long period of time with a strong desire by the attorney general and defense counsel to . . . conclude these cases without trial."

Darigan said he wanted to make it clear that money -- the cost of what might amount to separate three-to-four-month trials for the Derderians -- had nothing to do with his decision to accept a plea deal.

But Darigan did cite the potential length of the trial, and the fact that more than 300 persons had been subpoenaed to testify as factors in his decision to accept the pleas.

"Many of the fire survivor witnesses were unwilling or unable to appear to testify -- either because of the trauma of reliving these events or because the state of their mental or physical health prevented or greatly hindered their appearance," the judge said.

DARIGAN ALSO SAID that it might have been difficult to seat an open-minded jury. He said that after reviewing questionnaires filled out by one of two groups of potential jurors, the lawyers asked that more than 64 percent of them be excused without any further questioning because of possible biases.

The judge also asked "what enhancement of sentence, if any, would be accomplished" if the case had gone to trial. He also weighed the effect a possible acquittal would have had on the grieving families "and what consternation would result if the jury failed to reach a verdict at all and the case had to be retried." Even if the defendants were convicted, there could be years of ensuing appeals.

Darigan said he hoped that the defendants' no-contest pleas, which he stressed were admissions of guilt, "will alert other business owners within this state of the essential need to make safety the utmost priority when operating any place of assembly."

Governor Carcieri, in his statement last night, said he felt the sentences were too lenient. "Nobody who witnessed today's emotional testimony could believe that the punishment fit the crime."

AT THE OUTSET of the sentencing hearing -- before the victims' relatives spoke -- Darigan announced that whatever they said would not change the sentences that he was about to impose. But they poured out their hearts anyway and tried to convince the judge to change his mind.

Sarah Ballard lost her mother, Sarah Telgarsky, in the fire, and her father was critically burned. It took several days to identify Telgarsky's body.

"Just imagining the thought of my mother being so burned that she could only be identified by dental records kills me to this day," Ballard told the court. "While planning the funeral and answering phone calls I also had to move out of my home, pack all my things and my mother's things. I had to say goodbye to everything I've ever known and get readjusted to a whole new life."

Tension between the judge and the speakers got so heated that, at one point, Darigan walked off the bench.

"The events of late have caused us as much pain as the actual crime," said Jay McLaughlin, whose brother- and sister-in-law, Michael and Sandy Hoogasian, died in the fire. "We stand here today, our hearts heavy, overflowing not with grief, but with hatred, hatred of the club owner whose only concern was money, not the safety of his patrons and employees, hatred for the sniveling little coward who hid the money box in the snow while people were dying in the club."

Darigan interrupted: "All right, sir, let's stick to the facts of . . ."

"Hatred for the state who traded our loved one . . ."

"Court will be in recess," the judge declared.

As McLaughlin was escorted back to his seat by security officers, the gallery applauded him for about 30 seconds. Someone yelled, "God bless you."

When Darigan resumed the bench a few minutes later, he addressed the spectators. "Everybody in this courtroom, ladies and gentlemen, has a First Amendment right to say anything or think anything they wish. The place for this, however, is not here this morning," the judge said. "This isn't a public hearing, it's not a rally, it's not a memorial service, and it's not a forum for a diatribe against this criminal justice system."

He said complaints about the court were not appropriate. "If you can't conform to those rules, we won't conduct the impact statements that we have scheduled," the judge said. "We're conducting this session because we're required to by law and because we want to hear from you regarding your loved one."

At that comment, one of the spectators scoffed at the judge, making a loud "pfft" sound.

Darigan allowed McLaughlin to continue.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

While he recognized their frustrations, Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. also admonished some of those giving victim impact statements to stay within specified guidelines.

McLaughlin concluded by saying, "The only thing I've learned from these court proceedings is that Lady Justice in Rhode Island is blind, but she's also deaf."

That drew applause, prompting Darigan to admonish the gallery from making further outbursts.

SOME OF THE RELATIVES' statements brought the Derderians, their families and their lawyer, Kathleen M. Hagerty, to tears.

Susan Howorth-Pritchard, who lost her brother, Carlton Howorth III, in the fire talked about questions her 6-year-old niece, Elizabeth Howorth, has about her father's death:

"Did Daddy see me from heaven, did he see my ballet show?"

"Is Daddy standing next to God?"

"Are you going to die, too, Mommy?"

Others said they felt Darigan had cheated them by not conducting a trial.

"I would like to thank you, Judge Darigan, for deciding for me and my family and all the other families that we could not go through the trauma of a trial," said Bonnie Hoisington, whose daughter, Abbie Hoisington, died. "Our lives have been permanently altered and we feel we were not given the opportunity to have any sort of closure . . . We followed the rules, and we were betrayed by the very system meant to protect all of us."

Sus Longiaru, mother of fire victim John Longiaru, was also critical of the judge: "We all deserved a trial to find out why our loved ones died. A trial would not have been too hard on us. Living without them is hard. I think it would've been too hard on you, judge, and on Mr. Lynch."

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

pparker@projo.com / (401) 277-7360