Boston Area News

CRANSTON, R.I. (WBZ) ― The band manager whose pyrotechnics ignited a nightclub blaze that killed 100 people in 2003 was granted parole Wednesday and will be released in March after having served less than half his four-year sentence, the state parole board announced Wednesday.

Daniel Biechele, the former tour manager for the 80's band Great White, has served 16 months so far after pleading guilty last year to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter for his role in the fire. The state Parole Board announced its unanimous decision after meeting with Biechele privately at the minimum security prison, where he is held.

Biechele, 30, lit pyrotechnics as a stage prop at the start of a Great White concert at The Station nightclub in West Warwick. Sparks from the explosives ignited flammable soundproofing foam around the stage, and the flames quickly spread throughout the one-story roadhouse as patrons tried to escape.

Besides the 100 killed, more than 200 others were injured.

In prison, Biechele has stayed out of trouble and worked as a bookkeeper for a nonprofit agency. Parole board chairwoman Lisa Holley said the board considered factors such as risk of re-offending, plans for life after prison and input from victims' relatives in deciding to grant Biechele parole. It also considered Attorney General Patrick Lynch's opposition to releasing him early, she said.

Biechele has requested to live out of state, although Holley would not say where. He is originally from Florida. His lawyer, Tom Briody, declined to comment as he left the prison.

Biechele admitted lighting the devices without the required permit and tearfully apologized at his sentencing. He said he never intended for anyone to be harmed and wasn't sure he could ever forgive himself.

Victims' relatives have been divided on Biechele's bid to leave prison early. Several family members praised Biechele for being the first person to accept responsibility for the fire and said he was just one of many individuals to blame.

Leland Hoisington, whose 28-year-old daughter, Abbie, died, said he was satisfied with the decision and would not have objected to Biechele being immediately released.

"I've forgiven him for any little part he may have played," Hoisington said.

But others have said the punishment did not fit the crime. Diane Mattera's 29-year-old daughter Tammy Mattera-Housa died in the fire, and she now cares for Mattera-Housa's 14-year-old son, Nathan. She called the early release horrendous.

"How do I tell him that's what his mother's life is worth?" she said. "I try to teach him about owning up and standing up and everything, and then the state turns around and doesn't follow through."

Two other men, club owners and brothers Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, also were convicted of 100 involuntary manslaughter for the fire, although they both pleaded no contest. Michael Derderian was sentenced in September 2006 to four years in prison and is not yet eligible for parole. Jeffrey Derderian was sentenced to 500 hours of community service and probation.

James Gahan, whose 21-year-old son, Jimmy, died in the fire, said it was critical that Biechele cooperate in lawsuits stemming from the fire by speaking with lawyers representing survivors and victims' relatives. Biechele himself is among dozens of defendants.

"If you want the state to eliminate part of your punishment, I just think there has to be some sort of effort made to produce something of equal value on the other side," Gahan said. "That would be to be completely open and honest about not only his role but the role of others around him."

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