A Chicago building owner was released on $50,000 bond Thursday on charges he failed to repair the abandoned structure before it collapsed in a fire, killing two Chicago firefighters.
Chuck Dai, 62, spent about three hours in custody before his wife posted the $5,000 necessary to secure his release. He later walked out of the Criminal Courts Building without comment.
In asking for a substantial bail, Cook County prosecutors said several neighbors of the former laundry at 1738-44 E. 75th St. will testify that it was in disrepair, unsecured and frequented by squatters when the fire broke out Dec. 22, 2010. Firefighters Edward Stringer and Corey Ankum were killed and 17 others were injured when the rotting truss roof collapsed while firefighters fought the blaze and looked for anyone inside.
Dai had agreed in Housing Court to fix multiple code violations by November 2010, but prosecutors filed a petition last month to hold Dai in criminal contempt for allegedly failing to make the necessary repairs. Dai, who has no prior criminal history, could face prison if convicted.
His attorney, Gene Murphy, had asked Judge James Obbish to release Dai on his own recognizance, questioning why prosecutors waited a year before filing the petition on the first anniversary of the deadly blaze. Murphy also said prosecutors failed to provide "a single piece of evidence" in their petition that Dai had failed to comply with the order.
"The state's attorney's office jumps from 'there was a fire' to somehow holding my client responsible for the deaths," Murphy said.
Copyright 2012 - Chicago Tribune
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
