Dominican nightclub owner arrested in deaths of 236 in roof collapse

UPI

2 days ago

June 13 (UPI) -- The owner of a popular nightclub in the Dominican Republic is facing an involuntary homicide charge after 236 people died because the roof collapsed during a concert in April, prosecutors announced.
Antonio Espaillat, whose family also owns a chain of radio stations, was questioned by the attorney general's office in the capital, Santo Domingo, on Thursday, The New York Times reported. He then was detained, his lawyer, Jorge Luis Polanco, said.
Also arrested on the same charge was his sister Maribel Espaillat, who helped manage the club Jet Set. Authorities have 48 hours to seek charges before a judge.
He was arrested after a club employee gave authorities evidence that showed he had warned the club's owners that they should cancel the concert on April 8 because the roof was in such poor condition and had been repeatedly repaired.
"Both defendants displayed immense irresponsibility and negligence by failing to physically intervene to prevent the club's roof from collapsing, as it ultimately did, causing 236 deaths and more than 180 injuries," the attorney general's office said in a statement obtained by MSN. Also, the office also said they tried to "manipulate or intimidate" employees as potential witnesses.
Plinio Pina, the employee's lawyer, told reporters Wednesday: "Our client presented, basically, evidence of conversations in which he gave an account of the situation at the nightclub in which he expressed his fears and apprehensions, and his suggestion that the event be suspended. And that was ignored."
Satellite images showed equipment, including air-conditioning condensers, on the club's roof.
An official report by the National Office of Seismic Evaluation and Vulnerability of Infrastructure and Buildings concluded that the nightclub's roof structure was in critical condition and showed signs of deterioration before the tragedy occurred.
Antonio Espaillat, who was out of the country during the tragedy, and his mother owned Jet Set, which is about a block from the shore in Santo Domingo and was known for live music.
The roof collapsed during a performance by the merengue singer Rubby Perez, who was known as the "highest voice in merengue."
Perez died, as well as a Dominican governor, former Major League Baseball players Octavio Dorel and Tony Blanco, family members of prominent bankers, the city's director of urban infrastructure and the minister of public works' son.
More than 70 civil lawsuits have been filed, including many from the nearly 200 survivors.
Two weeks after the roof collapse, Antonio Espaillat said in a television interview that the club's ceiling panels often got soaked from water leaking from the air conditioning.
Workers replaced ceiling panels on the same day of the fatal concert.
He said he didn't know how bad the situation was. "The first thing I want to say is that I have a very great pain," he said."I regret all the losses with all my soul."
One day after the roof collapse, there were 184 deaths and 155 injuries reported. Also, 145 people were rescued from the wreckage in the first 24 hours, Juan Manuel Mendez, the director of the Emergency Operations Center.
Rescue workers from Israel and Puerto Rico assisted.