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September 19, 2007

Update: Decision due this afternoon on Biechele's parole

CRANSTON -- The state Parole Board was deciding today whether Daniel M. Biechele, former tour manager of the rock band Great White, will be released after serving 16 months of his four-year sentence for triggering the fireworks that started The Station nightclub fire and killed 100 people in 2003.

Biechele went before the board between 12:30 and 1 p.m. in a hearing closed to the public. Parole officials are said to be in the process of notifying relatives of the fire victims of the outcome.

After that, at about 3:30 p.m., officials will hold a news conference to announce the results.

Biechele, 30, pleaded guilty last year to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter. The brothers who owned the nightclub, Michael A. and Jeffrey A. Derderian, pleaded no contest to 100 counts each of involuntary manslaughter for fire-code violations that helped the fire spread rapidly. Michael, 46, was sentenced to serve four years in prison. Jeffrey, 40, was sentenced to 500 hours community service.

Biechele became eligible for parole after serving a third of his prison sentence. Michael Derderian is not yet eligible for parole because he began his sentence about four months after Biechele.

-- Journal staff writer Paul Edward Parker

Posted by Jack Perry  at 2:21 PM | Permalink

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Mack Mann | September 19, 2007 8:39 AM link

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