«The defendants resorted to inadequate palliative solutions solely in the interest of saving resources and were always fully aware of the roof problems.".
SANTO DOMINGO.- Investigations by the Public Ministry determined that siblings Antonio and Maribel Espaillat López were carrying out a negligent business operation that put hundreds of lives at risk.
Prosecutors allege that for years the Jet Set Club "operated with systematic and serious negligence in the maintenance and structural adaptation of its facilities, putting the lives of its clients and employees at risk.".
Both defendants also deliberately disregarded building and land use regulations. As the main organizers, they permitted and facilitated significant renovations, adaptations, and expansions to the Jet Set Club structure “without obtaining the required permits or conducting the necessary structural assessments by the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) or the Mayor's Office of the National District.”.
Prosecutors allege that for years the Jet Set Club "operated with systematic and serious negligence in the maintenance and structural adaptation of its facilities, putting the lives of its clients and employees at risk.".
A press release from the Attorney General's Office states that the defendants significantly altered the nightclub's structure without technical supervision. "The nightclub, originally a movie theater, underwent a change of use that involved an inadequate structural adaptation," the prosecutors indicate.
“Subsequently, a key column in the structure was removed, significantly affecting the stability of the roof, without any professional assessment or permit to support such modification, demonstrating high-risk behavior,” they point out.
Furthermore, the owners of Jet Set excessively and progressively overloaded the nightclub's roof with numerous heavy items, such as technical booths, ducts, large air conditioning units (including six air conditioners weighing 15 and 20 tons each), and water tanks. All of this was done "without conducting any studies to guarantee the structure's capacity to support such weight.".
“The defendants resorted to inadequate palliative solutions solely in the interest of saving resources and were always fully aware of the roof problems. Antonio Espaillat and Maribel Espaillat had direct and constant knowledge of the serious problems with the roof, through visual reports (photos and videos) and communications from their own employees. Despite these explicit warnings about falling debris and the imminent danger, they chose to ignore them.”.
These renovations included the installation of a stage, lighting systems, bars, and VIP areas, “demonstrating a total disregard for construction and safety laws,” the prosecutors added.
Prosecutors determined that the nightclub executives subordinated the safety of employees and customers to the business operation.
“The accused Maribel Espaillat, aware of a debris falling incident hours before the collapse and upon being asked to suspend the activity, refused to do so, citing the absence of the accused Antonio Espaillat López and the impossibility of stopping the party, prioritizing economic benefit over the safety and lives of people,” they say.
“The chain of actions and omissions of the accused, including the lack of permits, structural modifications without technical basis, overloading of the roof, deficient 'repairs' and disregard for danger warnings, demonstrates a systematic pattern of irresponsibility and negligence that caused 235 deaths and more than 180 injuries,” the Public Prosecutor's Office stated.
It indicates that technical assessments have confirmed critical findings such as the absence of an essential column, the deficient anchoring of beams and the absence of supporting masonry walls, which validate the structural failures directly attributable to the actions and omissions of the nightclub's management.
The Public Prosecutor's Office argues that it gathered compelling evidence demonstrating that the events of April 8th "were entirely avoidable if the defendants had acted in accordance with the law and if they had valued life over money.".
Furthermore, the defendants intimidated witnesses in the proceedings "with the aim of preventing them from providing evidence in the proceedings that compromises their criminal responsibility.".
He requests pretrial detention
The Public Prosecutor's Office requested preventive detention for Antonio Espaillat and house arrest for Maribel Espaillat this Saturday in the request for coercive measures that it filed before the courts for the criminal responsibility of both defendants in the collapse of the roof of the nightclub that, on the night of April 8, caused the death of 235 people and left more than 180 injured.
A team made up of Deputy Attorney Wilson Camacho, head of the General Directorate of Prosecution of the Public Ministry, and the District Attorney of the National District, Rosalba Ramos, and made up of Héctor García, Magalys Sánchez, Enamuel Ramírez, Rosa Ysabel Mejía, Miguel Collado and Vladimir Viloria signed the document deposited before the Judicial Office of Permanent Attention Services of the National District.
The Public Prosecutor's Office states that the defendants violated the criminal offenses contemplated and sanctioned in articles 319 and 320 of the Dominican Penal Code, which punish involuntary homicide, as well as involuntary blows and injuries.
The Jet Set roof collapsed on the night of April 8, 2025, at the moment when singer Rubby Pérez, who also died, was entertaining at a merengue party with his orchestra.
Following the incident at the nightclub located in El Portal Square, at Kilometer 6 of Independence Avenue, in the National District, the Attorney General of the Republic, Yeni Berenice Reynoso, went to the scene and instructed the General Directorate of Prosecution of the Public Ministry to take measures to develop the investigations, including the protection of the scene and debris to carry out the expert analysis of the site.
Once the rescue work was completed, the Public Prosecutor's Office proceeded to preserve the rubble for the purposes of technical expertise.
In compliance with that provision, the director of the Emergency Operations Center (COE), retired General Juan Manuel Méndez García, once the rescue of survivors and recovery of the bodies of the deceased were completed, proceeded to hand over the scene to the Public Ministry.
As part of the investigation, the Public Ministry team appointed experts Leonardo de Jesús Reyes Madera (earthquake-resistant engineer), Eduardo A. Fierro (president of BFP Engineers) and Máximo José Corominas Quezada (pathological engineer), to carry out the technical study on the causes of the collapse of the roof of the Jet Set Club building, owned by the commercial entity Inversiones E y L SRL and managed by the siblings Antonio and Maribel Espaillat López.
