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Santo Domingo.- Antonio Espaillat, owner of the Jet Set nightclub, says no authorities, engineering firms, or independent experts ever alerted him to structural dangers in the venue’s roof, which collapsed on April 8 and killed 232 people. In an interview with Edith Febles, Espaillat admitted, “I never saw the ceiling; all I saw were the soffits.”
He explained that the building—formerly the El Portal cinema—was purchased by his family in the late 1980s and has undergone no major structural alterations since, aside from leveling the sloped theater floor.
For three decades, the club’s ceiling consisted of plaster panels that routinely absorbed moisture from air-conditioning leaks and blocked drains. As the panels became saturated, they grew heavy and fell; the solution, he said, was simply replacing the damaged sections. On the night of the tragedy, an employee had just swapped out several wet panels when the collapse occurred.
Espaillat was away that evening—he usually spent Mondays at the club—and learned of the disaster from his sister, who was trapped under the rubble alongside their mother. He insists that, had any warning or preventive measure been possible, he would have acted immediately. “The first one who wants to know what happened is me,” he said, emphasizing his personal stake in uncovering the cause.
Charitably speaking his not knowing of any prior warnings is doubtful.
Prison to this liar and anyone who tries to cover for him.
For three decades, the club’s ceiling consisted of plaster panels that routinely absorbed moisture from air-conditioning leaks and blocked drains. As the panels became saturated, they grew heavy and fell; the solution, he said, was simply replacing the damaged sections.
Dios mio….. you have the right to remain silent instead of confessing to negligence…
You would think after replacing panels many times it is best to look into the faults of the roof with an engineer, not a maestro.