WARWICK, R.I. (AP) – Relatives of some of the 100 people killed by a nightclub fire urged the state parole board Wednesday night to keep one of the club’s former owners in prison, calling him a greedy businessman who endangered his patrons by valuing money over their safety.

The board heard from more than a dozen victims’ relatives as it considers whether to grant Michael Derderian parole from his four-year sentence for the February 2003 fire at The Station nightclub, which was sparked by pyrotechnics used by the 1980s rock band Great White.

Board members are expected to make a decision next Wednesday after meeting privately with Derderian at the state prison.

“Michael Derderian violated a sacred code of ethics by not providing a safe haven for his patrons,” said William C. Bonardi, who lost his only son, 36-year-old William, in the fire. “In addition, he has shown absolutely no remorse – no remorse.”

Eight of the victims either lived or worked in Connecticut.

Gina Russo, a survivor whose fiance died in the fire, still carries scars all over her body and wears a wig to cover her burned scalp.

“This is my life sentence, and I can’t show you the rest because I’m too embarrassed,” she said.

Derderian has been imprisoned since September 2006 after he and his brother, Jeffrey, pleaded no contest to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter for illegally installing highly flammable foam as soundproofing on the walls of their West Warwick club. The brothers have said they did not knowingly put people at risk and had no idea the foam was dangerous. Jeffrey Derderian was sentenced to community service and spared jail time as part of his plea deal.

Daniel Biechele, the former Great White tour manager who pleaded guilty to illegally igniting the pyrotechnics at the start of a concert, was granted parole last year and is due out in March.

At an emotional parole hearing, victims’ families complained that Derderian had shown flagrant disregard for club patrons by repeatedly allowing overcrowding, hosting bands that lit pyrotechnics, asking the town fire marshal to increase the club’s capacity, and for using cheap and flammable foam to quell neighbors’ noise complaints. Flames engulfed the building when sparks from the pyrotechnics set ablaze foam lining the walls and the ceiling.

“He put my baby and a lot of people in harm’s way without a thought to the outcome,” said Claire Bruyere, whose daughter, 27-year-old Bonnie Hamelin, died.

The anger directed at Derderian was in stark contrast to the feelings of leniency shown to Biechele, who enjoyed support from many victims’ relatives when he came up for parole.

Derderian is eligible for parole after serving about 16 months of his prison sentence. The parole board has the option of granting parole immediately; granting parole but assigning a future release date; denying parole but taking up the case later; or denying parole altogether.

Many parents, saying their lives have been permanently damaged by the deaths or injuries of their children, told the board it would be unfair to release Derderian early from a sentence they felt was too lenient to begin with.

“It is disturbing to us that this grossly negligent individual is being considered for early release when we have been sentenced to life without parole,” said Eileen DiBonaventura, who lost her 18-year-old son, Albert.

Parole board chairwoman Lisa Holley said before the hearing she had received letters from victims’ families both supporting and opposing parole for Derderian. But the only person who spoke in favor of an early release Wednesday was Jody King, a childhood friend of Derderian whose brother, Tracy, worked as a bouncer at the club and died in the fire.

“He is sorry for what happened,” King said. “He has told me in his own words. He knows sorry will never be good enough.”

At his sentencing hearing, Michael Derderian, who was not at the club the night of the fire, apologized for not asking more questions about the foam and told victims’ relatives that he never would have used the material if he had known it was dangerous.

“We would have never, ever knowingly put our patrons, our employees, our family and our friends at risk,” he said then.

All but one of the 13 people who spoke publicly before the parole board opposed an early release for Derderian. An additional five people who addressed the board privately all opposed parole, Holley said.

“He needs to be in state custody with no parole and feel what these victims are feeling: a sense of loss, fear, depression, pain, nightmares,” said Marie DiBona, whose son Joseph, now 36, survived the fire.

AP-ES-01-09-08 2110EST