Ruling: Former GREAT WHITE Manager Biechele Can Be Questioned Regarding Station Nightclub Fire
August 5, 2007, 17 years ago
According to Projo.com, a rock band manager has lost his bid for blanket protection from further questioning concerning the Station nightclub fire that killed 100 people four years ago.
Daniel M. Biechele’s lawyer argued in U.S. District Court, Providence, last week that he should be spared further questioning because his answers could lead to federal prosecution or charges in other states in connection to his job with the band GREAT WHITE.
U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Martin ruled yesterday that lawyers representing victims’ families may question Biechele, according to the Associated Press. But Martin also ruled that Biechele can use his constitutional right against self-incrimination by declining to answer questions that he believes might incriminate him.
Biechele is serving a four-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter. He admits he lit the pyrotechnics that triggered the 2003 blaze, but he said resulting injuries were unintentional.
Victims’ lawyers argued that there was no evidence that any state or federal prosecutors were trying to build a new case against Biechele. But they said he can provide information that would help identify others who planned the concert and the pyrotechnics, as well as the identities of others, including public officials, who were aware of events leading up to the fire.
