Band Attorney Says Singer Wants Immunity (And another death this morning)

"They wanted the lowest grade, the cheapest stuff," he told The Associated Press on Friday. "They asked for egg-crate material and that's what we sold them. It's good packaging material. You just can't light it on fire. We sell fire-retardant foam, but that's not what they were looking for. ... It costs about twice as much."

This is devastating evidence. More and more, it appears that the owners are going to bear most of the responsibility here.

Just a month into his term, Rhode Island's new attorney general is facing a bigger challenge than some prosecutors see in their entire career: determining whether anyone should face criminal charges for the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history.

Patrick Lynch has found himself under the glare of a national spotlight, initially stumbling in his widely broadcast comments on the fire and the criminal implications.

With the West Warwick club's remains still smoldering, Lynch announced that a criminal investigation had been launched a pronouncement that set off a barrage of questions from reporters who wanted information he wasn't prepared to release.

Over the weekend, he complained that the club's owners seemed more interested in cooperating with reporters than investigators remarks that unleashed a rat-a-tat of questions from reporters on why he had reached that conclusion.

"He certainly looks like someone who's green," said Paul Martinek, editor of Boston-based Lawyers Weekly USA.

The Feb. 20 fire ripped through The Station nightclub minutes after the band Great White's pyrotechnics apparently ignited soundproofing behind the stage, trapping concertgoers in flames and thick plumes of smoke. Ninety-seven people were killed.

In a matter of days, the case was before a grand jury. Unlike in most states, with their county prosecutors, the attorney general in Rhode Island oversees criminal cases statewide, aided by a host of prosecutors based in local courthouses.

"Any criminal case, you start immediately. You want to collect evidence as quickly as possible," Lynch said in a recent interview from his Cranston office, where framed newspaper clippings of cases he's worked on hang on the wall. "We need to speak to people and get their statements as quickly as possible to compare them and put together in their entirety."

At 6-foot-5, Lynch is hard to miss. The lanky former basketball star at Brown University, who also played professionally in Northern Ireland, usually towers above the throngs of reporters surrounding him at news conferences. His brother is the state Democratic Party chairman, and his father is a well-known former mayor of Pawtucket.

Before joining Rhode Island's top lobbying law firm four years ago, Lynch prosecuted gang members and drug dealers for five years in the attorney general's office. But it was the West Warwick nightclub fire that propelled the telegenic Lynch into the national spotlight.

"Whether it's the beginning of my tenure or the end, I've got a job to do and I'm going to do it to the best of my abilities and with all the resources that are available to me. These families deserve nothing less," Lynch said.

Some observers call him a quick study propelled into an unusually difficult position.

"He's not showboating at all," said Jim O'Neil, a former attorney general in the late 1980s and early 1990s. "That young guy is up there and his heart is broken as much as anyone else's. But he's got a job to do, and I for one think he's doing it well."

But critics say Lynch has shown a naivete in handling a massive investigation.

A few days after the fire, Lynch publicly criticized Jeff and Michael Derderian, who own The Station nightclub, saying the brothers had not answered questions from investigators about the blaze. Jeff Derderian, a local TV reporter, has only spoken publicly twice about the fire both times with media.

Lynch's remarks brought a day of questions from reporters, trying to pin him down on why he was questioning the brothers' cooperation. His remarks also drew contempt from the brothers' attorneys, who insisted that their clients were cooperating.

"I have not indicated they have not cooperated. You all keep saying that," an apparently frustrated Lynch told reporters at a news conference later in the week. "All I'm saying is that I believe they have answers to questions that we all are looking for."

Since then, he has mostly declined to answer questions about the investigation.

"I don't quite see the point of the attorney general of Rhode Island getting into a ... contest with someone who's the subject of a criminal investigation," said Martinek, of Lawyers Weekly USA. "I'm not sure what he accomplished by that."

O'Neil, the former attorney general, said he considers the sharp remarks part of a smart strategy by Lynch to aggressively pursue an investigation early on and nail down the real story.

Great White has said it received approval to use pyrotechnics at the club, but the Derderians have denied that.

Lynch says his responsibility as the state's chief law enforcement officer is to sift through all the evidence and determine whether a crime occurred no matter how long that takes.

"I tell you and I tell everybody, there's no joy in guilty verdicts, particularly in murder cases. While people talk about closure, there's never closure for families who have lost loved ones in tragedies like this, or murder," Lynch said. "I go back to my office and I go back to work. Those families go home to an empty bedroom, to an empty house, or to a gravesite. That's no closure."
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20030228_1096.html

And an insulation dealer said club owners bought flammable packing foam, not soundproofing foam, to use in the club.

That's a killer statement, in more ways than one.

Oh yeah, they're in big trouble.

If the foam was added after the fire inspection, the inspector is off the hook. The place was otherwise OK fire code wise. They had adequate exits (though few used them) and sprinklers were not legally required.

The band is going to get immunity to testify.

This is devastating evidence. More and more, it appears that the owners are going to bear most of the responsibility here.

It looks that way. Though the band should have realized the ceiling was too low. The lead singer said pyros' should never have been used in the club, yet the band went ahead and did it anyway. They share responsibility, imo.

If the foam was added after the fire inspection, the inspector is off the hook. The place was otherwise OK fire code wise.

Doesn't the inspector have to OK the material. Clear it as being within code?

I believe the foam was added in 2000 and the last inspection was Dec 2002. I could be wrong but I don't think so.

This is so FUBAR!!!!

MKM

If they added it after the fire inspection, the fire inspector is obviously not responsible.

If he approved the club after the material was put up, he's in deep doo-doo.

From a previous article:

Under Rhode Island regulations, ''when a doubt exists'' as to whether a material in a club is fire retardant, the inspector should hold a match under a sample of the material in question for 12 seconds to see if it ignites. The investigator said the panel of officials looking into the blaze believe that the test did not take place.

"They wanted the lowest grade, the cheapest stuff," he told The Associated Press on Friday. "They asked for egg-crate material and that's what we sold them. It's good packaging material. You just can't light it on fire. We sell fire-retardant foam, but that's not what they were looking for. ... It costs about twice as much."

I don't know about Rhode Island statutes, but at common law, such evidence could elevate the charges from manslaughter to murder, as wanton disregard for human life.

The foam was there when the inspector did his inspection in December. There appears to be plenty of blame to go around. IMHO, there is no way the band is going to get immunity. They set off the pyro! Even if their claim is correct that they had the permission of the club, you still need a licensed pyro technician and a permit from the town, neither of which they had.

I recall hearing the last fire inspection was Dec. 2002. At that time there were a 'few minor problems'--what these were I never heard.

The Tarheel

Here's a snippet from a Boston Gobe article...

The type of the foam is crucial to the probe. Investigators are trying to determine how flammable the foam was, and to determine how and by whom it was installed in the nightclub.

Rhode Island building codes dictate that business owners must alert local fire and building inspectors to certain materials that are installed and get approval. Fire inspectors, in turn, are expected to test flammability of such materials during inspections.

Jeffrey Pine, the lawyer representing one of the brothers who own the nightclub, told the Globe the insulating foam was installed in mid-2000, after Jeffrey and Michael Derderian bought the club. Pine, a former state attorney general, called the foam insulation ''a regular product from a regular manufacturer,'' but could not provide specifics.

Though the band should have realized the ceiling was too low. The lead singer said pyros' should never have been used in the club, yet the band went ahead and did it anyway. They share responsibility, imo.

I agree. Looks like they are making a deal and it looks like the club owner's pyro guy who was traveling with and under the employ of the band are the one's going to be holding the bag.

I beleive that the club should take a big part of the blame, but the band should also. I hope they are making a plea bargain and accepting some charges and hope they don't get a complete immunity deal. But unfortunately it looks like the band is going to hang out to dry the pyro guy who they employed.

Though the band should have realized the ceiling was too low. The lead singer said pyros' should never have been used in the club, yet the band went ahead and did it anyway. They share responsibility, imo.

I agree. Looks like they are making a deal and it looks like the club owner's pyro guy who was traveling with and under the employ of the band are the one's going to be holding the bag.

I beleive that the club should take a big part of the blame, but the band should also. I hope they are making a plea bargain and accepting some charges and hope they don't get a complete immunity deal. But unfortunately it looks like the band is going to hang out to dry the pyro guy who they employed.

Though the band should have realized the ceiling was too low. The lead singer said pyros' should never have been used in the club, yet the band went ahead and did it anyway. They share responsibility, imo.

I agree. Looks like they are making a deal and it looks like the club owner's pyro guy who was traveling with and under the employ of the band are the one's going to be holding the bag.

I beleive that the club should take a big part of the blame, but the band should also. I hope they are making a plea bargain and accepting some charges and hope they don't get a complete immunity deal. But unfortunately it looks like the band is going to hang out to dry the pyro guy who they employed.

I just posted this..and it has 'gone missing'.

Here it is again...

Snippet from a Boston Globe article..

The type of the foam is crucial to the probe. Investigators are trying to determine how flammable the foam was, and to determine how and by whom it was installed in the nightclub.

Rhode Island building codes dictate that business owners must alert local fire and building inspectors to certain materials that are installed and get approval. Fire inspectors, in turn, are expected to test flammability of such materials during inspections.

Jeffrey Pine, the lawyer representing one of the brothers who own the nightclub, told the Globe the insulating foam was installed in mid-2000, after Jeffrey and Michael Derderian bought the club. Pine, a former state attorney general, called the foam insulation ''a regular product from a regular manufacturer,'' but could not provide specifics.

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A Rock Tragedy