Boston Area News

PROVIDENCE,RI (AP) ― The man who started the nightclub fire that killed 100 people broke down in tears today as the father of the youngest victim says he knew his son would accept his apology.

Daniel Biechele broke into sobs as David Kane spoke about about his son, 18-year-old Nicholas O'Neill.

As he wept, Biechele's lawyer, Tom Briody, put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it to comfort him.

Although Biechele has watched and listened intently during two days of wrenching testimony from victim's families, it was the first time he has broken down.

Earlier today, another of Biechele's lawyers, Peter Di Biasi, put his face in his hands and wept during the testimony of another father.

For the second day, relatives of those killed in the Station Nightclub fire, spoke in court about their loved ones.

Robert Reisner, the school bus driver who lived with his mother and was known as "Mr. Rob" to the students on his route, went to the concert.

So did Scott Griffith, a California-born man and self-taught musician who headed out with a group of office buddies after closing a deal at work.

Robert Young, who had only recently celebrated his one-year wedding anniversary, hoped to enjoy a night of heavy metal music headlined by a once-popular rock group.

All three men were among the 100 people killed by a raging fire that broke out inside the crowded West Warwick nightclub on Feb. 20, 2003.

The fire was sparked after Biechele, the band's tour manager, set off pyrotechnics as Great White began their first song -- setting the highly flammable foam surrounding the stage into a giant ball of fire that spewed out toxic fumes.

Brief snapshots of their lives were presented in court Tuesday as prosecutors read statements written by their relatives at a sentencing hearing Daniel Biechele, 29, the band's tour manager who pleaded guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter.

The hearing began on Monday with personal testimonials from relatives of those who perished, and continued into Tuesday with prosecutors reading statements from those relatives who were either unable to attend -- or couldn't bear the thought of speaking publicly about the pain of their loss.

Biechele is set to find out his sentence on Wednesday. He faces up to 10 years in prison; his lawyers have asked Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. to sentence him to community service.

Deb Gerfin, whose husband Melvin was killed, said in a statement that she was haunted by nightmares of her husband's final moments and often thinks about how he'll never see his two daughters go to homecoming or get married.

"Have you ever had to tell your children that their daddy is missing and presumed dead, and hear them wail and grieve?" Gerfin said in a statement read by a prosecutor.

"How do you convince them everything will be all right when it never will again? I have to be strong for them even when my heart is breaking," she wrote.

Another victim's wife stood and wept as prosecutor Randall White read her statement, which described a happy marriage and plans for a family, then dashed hopes for a long life together.

"I'm left with a lonely, empty house with nothing left but my sadness," wrote Jennifer Young, widow of 29-year-old Robert Young.

"Since my son's death, I have become confused and very depressed," wrote Nancy Crisostomi, mother of 38-year-old fire victim Alfred Crisostomi. "Many times I have considered taking my own life, but my faith prevents it."

The family of Derek Gray, a 22-year-old Massachusetts man killed in the fire, said Gray's girlfriend gave birth to the couple's baby daughter six months after the blaze.

"We have lost the ability to enjoy anything," their statement said. "Our enjoyment of just about everything has been taken away. It's a struggle everyday to just get up and function."

Only one speaker per fire victim is permitted to address the judge, and speakers are prohibited from recommending a prison sentence for Biechele or speaking directly to the defendant.

Darigan on Monday interrupted several family members who began expressing anger or giving their opinion on how long they believe Biechele should be behind bars.

In the courtroom Tuesday, Darigan addressed concerns from family members upset with the regulations, telling them he was only following Rhode Island law. The judge said that he wished he could permit any speaker from any family to describe their pain. But, he added, "We don't have the time or the resources to be able to do that."

The fire touched many in Rhode Island, a state so small that most residents seemed to know at least one person at the club who was injured or killed. The blaze quickly ignited and gutted the club, sending many of the patrons that night toward the front entrance -- where many were unable to escape because they either became overcome by fumes or perished in a logjam of fellow concertgoers.

The owners of The Station nightclub, brothers Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, are accused of installing the flammable foam that fed the flames.

They have pleaded not guilty to 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter -- two counts for each person killed, under separate legal theories. Michael Derderian is tentatively scheduled to go to trial on July 31; no trial date has been set for his brother.

The foam had been installed at the club, about 13 miles south of Providence, after neighbors complained of noise.

Besides the 100 deaths, more than 200 others were injured in the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history, and the worst fire in state history.

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