DA won't charge restaurant owners over Boston LODDs

By Donovan Slack
The Boston Globe

AP Photo/Bizuayehu Tesfaye
Boston firefighters stand outside the restaurant hours after the blaze.
BOSTON — Suffolk County prosecutors will not press criminal charges against the owners of the West Roxbury restaurant where two Boston firefighters died in a blaze in August.

District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced yesterday that a criminal investigation of the deaths determined that conditions at the Tai Ho restaurant did not warrant charges of criminal negligence or manslaughter.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino, meanwhile, is proposing a sweeping city law to regulate and license companies and individuals who clean grease from cooking equipment at restaurants.

Firefighters Paul J. Cahill and Warren Payne died Aug. 29 in a massive fireball fueled by grease that had built up in the Centre Street restaurant's kitchen exhaust system.

"As in every death investigation, our legal obligation in this case was specifically to determine whether any crime was committed, that is, whether any action by any individual or individuals rose to the level of wanton and reckless conduct, causing the deaths of these two firefighters," Conley said in a statement

"After a complete and thorough review of all of the evidence, I have determined that there is no basis for criminal charges to issue," he said.

The conclusion of Conley's investigation paves the way for the release of autopsy and toxicology reports to the Boston Fire Department and its special board of inquiry charged with investigating the deaths. Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser publicly assailed the board last month for not obtaining the reports before issuing its report on the fire.

Two government officials briefed on the autopsy reports told the Globe in October that they indicated that Payne had traces of cocaine in his system and that Cahill had a blood-alcohol content of 0.27, more than three times the legal limit for drivers in Massachusetts.

"I'm glad to hear that the district attorney has completed his investigation," Fraser said yesterday. "We hope to review the investigation and autopsy reports, and then we'll determine what our next steps will be."

Menino's proposed ordinance, which is scheduled to be taken up by the City Council today, would require that individuals who clean commercial cooking equipment be certified by an agency acceptable to the Fire Department. The department would publish a list of approved agencies, and individuals would have to provide the department with proof of certification.

"It is the responsibility of the individual to keep certification active," the proposed ordinance says.

Currently, grease-cleaning companies are not licensed or regulated in Massachusetts, something that industry specialists say has given way to sloppy cleaning and fire hazards, such as that in the Tai Ho.

The restaurant owner hired J&B Cleaning of Roslindale to remove grease from cooking equipment in June last year, three months before the fire, but a receipt indicates that J&B cleaned the stove and a roof vent, but not the kitchen exhaust pipe.

Fire investigators determined that grease from the pipe seeped into the kitchen ceiling and ignited, causing the fatal blaze.

Under Menino's proposed law, restaurants that hire noncertified cleaners and individuals who clean restaurants without the proper certification could be subject to a fine of up to $200 per day. City inspectors would also have the power to shut down restaurants.

The proposed ordinance must be passed by the council and signed by the mayor to become law.

The conclusion of Conley's criminal investigation yesterday prompted the Boston firefighters union to issue a harshly worded statement saying the lack of criminal charges shows that Cahill and Payne did nothing wrong. The statement also demanded an end to "all speculation and insinuations" about their alleged impairment.

"Firefighters Cahill and Payne did what firefighters do; they gave their lives to save the lives and property of others," Local 718 president Edward Kelly said in a statement. "They should be commended for their efforts, not used as a political punching bag for those who stand to gain from smearing the reputation of Boston firefighters."