Man Who Set Off Fireworks in Deadly Club Blaze Pleads Guilty

Nearly three years after the deadliest fire in Rhode Island history, the former manager of the heavy metal group Great White pleaded guilty Tuesday to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter.

As friends and family members of the nightclub fire victims looked on, Dan Biechele told Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. that he was changing his plea to guilty. Under a plea bargain, Biechele, 29, will receive a prison sentence of no more than 10 years.

On Feb. 20, 2003, Biechele set off a pyrotechnic display at the Station nightclub in nearby West Warwick. The fireworks sprayed 15 feet into the air, igniting the club’s acoustic foam ceiling and walls. The blaze destroyed the small, wooden structure in less than five minutes, killing 100 people and injuring 236. Many of those who survived were hospitalized for months.

Speaking in a deep, soft voice, Biechele said Tuesday that he was “knowingly, willingly and voluntarily” giving up his right to a trial, as well as the right to appeal.

He is expected to address the court -- including survivors and relatives of the dead -- when he is sentenced May 8.

Sarah Mancini, who lost her son Keith in the blaze, said she came to court Tuesday because she felt compelled to “be a voice for my son.”

Keith Mancini, 34, was the bass guitarist for the group Fat Head, which had performed before Great White took the stage. “He was so excited that night,” his mother said. “He really thought there might be scouts there.”

Biechele’s eyes drifted to the floor as prosecutor Randall White read off the facts of the case he would have brought had it gone to trial. White said almost 1,000 people were contacted by investigators in connection with the case, and more than 100 witnesses would have been called.

The prosecutor said that Biechele had permission from Michael Derderian, co-owner of the nightclub, to use fireworks at the show that night. Derderian owned the Station along with his brother Jeffrey.

The Derderians each have been charged with 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter; no date has been set for their trial. The brothers also face numerous civil suits and worker’s compensation claims stemming from the fire.

Raymond and Diane Mattera, who lost their 29-year-old daughter in the fire, said they came to court Tuesday “to finally hear somebody say, ‘I am guilty.’ ”

The Matteras, who are raising Tammy Mattera Housa’s two young sons, said the specter of the fire hovers over much of this small state.

“There is no one in this state that didn’t know someone who lost someone in that fire,” Diane Mattera said. “It was the worst tragedy that Rhode Island ever had -- so he gets 10 years, right?”

“Ten years, tops,” her husband interjected.

Diane Dooley, whose brother Bud Howorth died in the disaster, said she couldn’t imagine a sentence that would be equal to the tragedy.

“I don’t think you can measure lives in time,” she said. “I respect his decision to plead guilty. I feel badly for this fellow. I think if he had it to do over again, he never would have lit that match. But it happened, and someone needs to be responsible.”