Prosecutors in the Dominican Republic said Thursday, June 12, they had arrested the owners of a nightclub that collapsed in April, killing 236 revelers, on manslaughter charges. Antonio Espaillat and his sister Maribel Espaillat were arrested over the collapse of the roof of the Jet Set club in the early hours of April 8 during a concert by merengue star Rubby Perez.
Perez, 69, was among the victims of the worst tragedy in the Central American nation in decades, as were two retired Major League Baseball players and a provincial governor.
Antonio Espaillat, a 59-year-old businessman, said afterwards that the roof of the storied venue had been leaking for years but had never been inspected by authorities.
The prosecutor's office accused him and his sister of "immense irresponsibility and negligence" for failing to carry out repairs to the roof.
The Dominican Republic has no law requiring privately owned buildings to undergo safety inspections. After the disaster, President Luis Abinader said the government was drafting a bill to make inspections mandatory.
The Espaillat family owns a media conglomerate and a restaurant as well as the Jet Set. They have been targeted by more than 50 lawsuits brought by victims' relatives. The Espaillat family has pledged to cooperate with the investigation.