Jet Set owners charged with involuntary homicide after deadly roof collapse
The establishment's roof collapsed in the small hours of April 8 with hundreds of concertgoers inside, prompting a multi-day search and rescue effort to find survivors and the deceased, the ordeal sparking outrage over the country's substandard building safety codes.
Antonio Espaillat, a prominent Dominican businessman and the club's owner, who also runs dozens of local radio stations and several entertainment hubs, was arrested on Thursday after a former employee presented evidence proving that he had advised the owners, including Espaillat, to cancel the concert because the roof of the building was in a dangerously poor condition, according to reports by The New York Times.
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According to NBC News, the man identified himself as former Jet Set employee Gregory Adamés during an interview with Altanto TV, a local Dominican digital news channel, which says he provided prosecutors with video of conversations with Espaillat where he advised that the ill-fated party shouldn't go ahead because the roof may collapse.
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Death toll from Dominican Republic nightclub roof collapse rises to 124
Espaillat was detained on Thursday after attending a hearing at the attorney general's office in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo, his lawyer, Jorge Luis Polanco, confirmed.
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Maribel Espaillat, Antonio's sister, who managed the club, has also been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
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Members of special police forces take Maribel Espaillat, sister of businessman Antonio Espaillat, into custody in Santo Domingo on June 15, 2025. STR / Getty Images
In a statement published by the New York Times, the attorney general's office wrote that the siblings 'demonstrated immense irresponsibility and negligence by failing to do what was necessary to ensure that the Jet Set Club's roof was adequately and expertly repaired,' adding that they had attempted to 'manipulate or intimidate' employees who could have been potential witnesses.
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Aerial view shows rescue teams working at the Jet Set nightclub a day after the collapse of its roof in Santo Domingo on April 9, 2025. Rescuers raced to find survivors among the rubble of the nightclub where at least 124 people, including a former Major League Baseball star, were killed when the roof collapsed. Alfred Davies/ Getty Images
It did not provide additional details.
In an interview shortly after the disaster, Espaillat appeared to express remorse, telling the media that he was 'destroyed' by the fatal incident that killed 236 people, adding that if he could have prevented the collapse, he would have.
'There was no warning, nothing. We were all surprised,' he said.
'I'm going to face everything,' he added. 'I'm not going anywhere.'
Espaillat did not attend the scene during rescue efforts over concerns for his safety, as angry crowds had gathered at the site.
The club, which was founded 52 years ago by Espaillat's mother, Ana Grecia López, when he was just six years old, had become a pillar of the city's nightlife and was frequented by many high-profile individuals.
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It remained in the same location for three decades before it collapsed in April with about 515 people inside, according to the owners.
The victims of the collapse included seven doctors, a retired United Nations official, former MLB players Octavio Dotel and Tony Enrique Blanco Cabrera, and Nelsy Cruz, the governor of Montecristi province and sister of seven-time Major League Baseball All-Star Nelson Cruz, the AP reported.
It also killed merengue star Rubby Perez, who was performing when the roof caved in.
There is currently no government agency dedicated to inspecting the buildings of private businesses in the Dominican Republic, although President Luis Abinader announced after the collapse the introduction of new legislation, which is expected to change that.
— With files from the Associated Press
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