N.Y. Man Receives 25 Years to Life for Social Club Fire That Killed 87
The man who set a fire that killed 87 people at a social club received the maximum sentence Thursday of 25 years to life in prison.
Before issuing the sentence, Chief Judge Burton Roberts of the trial-level Bronx State Supreme Court said so many people had died that “it becomes sort of distant. We can’t recognize the horrendous tragedy.”
Julio Gonzalez, 37, was convicted of 174 counts of murder--two counts for each death. He received 25 years to life for each count, but the sentences will run concurrently. He will be eligible for parole in 25 years.
Gonzalez set the fire at the Happy Land club in the Bronx on March 25, 1990, after he had a fight with a former girlfriend who worked there and was kicked out by a bouncer.
Attending the sentencing Thursday were nearly 100 relatives and friends of the victims.
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