Parole of Station club owner opposed

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Dec. 26 (UPI) -- The family of one of the victims of a 2003 fire at Rhode Island's Station nightclub has opposed the potential parole of the club's owner, Michael Derderian.

Kane and Joanne O'Neil asked the Rhode Island Parole Board not to parole Derderian, who pleaded no contest to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter in relation to the deadly fire, the Providence (R.I.) Journal reported Wednesday.

The couple, who lost their 18-year-old son, Nicholas, in the deadly blaze in 2003, said in a letter to the board Derderian's attitude and decisions were still a point of concern.

"It is important for the Parole Board to be clearly aware that Michael Derderian just doesn't get it," the couple said. "He has always been about himself. He has constantly shown an attitude that the rules, regardless of whom they are meant to protect, just don't apply to him."

The nightclub fire Feb. 20, 2003, killed 100 people and injured 200 others.

Derderian and his brother, who co-owned the Station, both pleaded no contest to charges related to violations of fire safety codes at the popular music club.