Rock manager gets prison for deadly fire

PROVIDENCE, R.I., May 10 (UPI) -- Great White's tour manager will spend four years in prison for sparking a deadly nightclub fire that killed 100 people in East Warwick, R.I.

Daniel Biechele, 29, was sentenced in Providence, R.I., Wednesday to 15 years in prison with 11 years suspended for setting off fireworks at a February 2003 Great White concert that ignited soundproofing foam at The Station, killing 100 people -- including the band's guitarist, the Providence Journal reported.

Gasps were audible in the packed courtroom as the sentence was announced by Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan, the newspaper said.

"The greatest sentence that can be imposed on you has been imposed on you by yourself," Darigan told Biechele, who earlier made a tearful apology to the court and relatives of the victims.

Prosecutors had sought the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison while Biechele's attorney sought a sentence of community service for his client.

"I think more jail would have been appropriate in this instance," Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch told the newspaper.

Biechele had pleaded guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter in an agreement with prosecutors.

The owners of The Station, brothers Michael and Jeffrey Derderian, still face separate trials in Providence.