Biechele Seeks Work Release

Dan Biechele, the former Great White road manager who was recently convicted of 100 counts of manslaughter, might have an accounting job while he serves time in a Rhode Island prison.

A judge recently approved a request for Biechele to be allowed to work as a bookkeeper for a nonprofit agency. His lawyers said he was offered a job in the finance department of The Arc of Northern Rhode Island, a nonprofit that provides services to people with disabilities.

The job still requires the approval of the state Department of Corrections, which generally follows a judge’s recommendation.

Biechele had been taking nighttime accounting classes in Florida, and would be responsible for accounts such as billing and keeping track of expenditures, according to agency CEO Robert Carl Jr.

The 29-year-old recently pleaded guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter for his role in The Station nightclub fire in West Warwick, R.I., in 2003. The road manager had ignited pyro onstage that led to the devastating blaze.

Dave Kane, father of one of the victims, approved Biechele’s plans to go to work, saying, “I don’t see any purpose in beating him senseless.” Another victim’s family member said she approved of Biechele working but preferred he volunteered in a burn unit.

Biechele would work Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., under “constant supervision” of an accounting manager and would likely commute the 25 miles between the agency’s office and the prison in Cranston by public bus.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Derderian, co-owner of The Station, is preparing for his trial for involuntary manslaughter, but will do so without his longtime attorney, Jeffrey Pine, who resigned because of concerns the trial would keep him from giving proper attention to his other clients.