Bio

Peter J. Leonard was from Greenwich, Connecticut. He was 22 years old in 1974.

He had worked as a laborer but was unemployed at that time. He had dropped out of high school.

Murder Story

On the early morning of June 30, 1974, the Gulliver's nightclub fire happened on the border of Port Chester, New York and Greenwich, Connecticut. The fire killed 24 patrons and injured 19 patrons and 13 firemen. Investigators said the fire was caused by arson in an adjacent bowling alley and that the arson had been aimed at covering up a minor burglary there.

Gulliver's Restaurant had opened in 1971. It drew many young people because New York had a later last call than Connecticut. The building sat on the state line. The club entrance was on the Greenwich side, but most of the building was in New York. Port Chester fire authorities had inspected most of the building two months before the fire. Other businesses in the same building had not been inspected since 1964.

On the main floor were a dining room, the main bar, and the kitchen. Down a short but narrow flight of stairs was the lower level lounge with a sunken dance floor. The bowling alley took up almost half the building. The late night discotheque was in the lower level.

About 200 young people were in the lower level lounge just before 1 a.m. The band on stage was the Creation, which included Paul Caravello. The band stopped playing after a waitress said she smelled smoke. The band announced there was a small fire and asked people to walk out quietly. Thick smoke spread quickly and a panic followed. Heat on the dance floor left many patrons unable to climb the only stairs to the main floor.

Paul Caravello went back into the smoke to help his bandmates. He was able to rescue two members, John and Sarita Henderson. Two other members, Damon DeFeis and George D. Chase, were found dead near where the fire’s flash point was later located. Authorities said the flash point was near the wall separating the bar and the bowling alley, under the bandstand. Damon and George were among the 24 people who perished.

Nineteen fire companies responded to the incident from Port Chester, Greenwich, and other nearby towns. Early attempts to enter the building were blocked by intense heat and smoke. Reports said it took from about 90 minutes to four hours to get the fire under control.

Most victims were found at the foot of the stairs. Some others were on the sunken dance floor. Many bodies were so charred that dental work was needed to identify them. Autopsies showed all the victims died from asphyxiation. Some electric clocks recovered from the rubble were stopped at 1:50, showing that power had been on during the fire.

The source of the fire initially appeared to be the nursery of the bowling alley, located in the basement under a clothing store. The exact location of the start mattered for which authorities would lead the investigation. The bowling alley had gone without government fire inspections for five years. Officials later said a 1961 agreement had assigned inspection responsibility to Port Chester, but the agreement had been forgotten after a Port Chester inspector retired in 1969. Port Chester officials questioned the legality of that agreement after the fire.

Peter J. Leonard of Greenwich, then 22 years old, was arrested on July 12, 1974 on charges of setting the fire. Authorities described him as an unemployed laborer and a high school dropout. They said he was a frequent patron of the bowling alley, that he had been there earlier in the evening and left when the alleys closed, and that he had returned later through a rooftop skylight intending to burglarize the alleys. Building surveys on July 16 showed that the nursery where the fire was set and the skylight Leonard used were both in New York State.

Leonard waived extradition and was indicted by a Westchester County grand jury on July 30, 1974. The indictment included 28 counts: 24 murder charges, arson, burglary, and two counts of petit larceny. Prosecutors said the theory was that Leonard had burglarized cigarette vending machines and then set the fire to cover up the burglary.

Leonard pleaded guilty just before his trial was to start on June 16, 1975. On July 16, 1975 he tried to withdraw the plea, but the judge refused and sentenced him to 15 years to life. On July 19, 1977 the murder verdict was overturned by the Appellate Court because his confession was found to have been coerced. A jury later convicted him on all 28 counts on September 7, 1978. That guilty verdict was overturned on December 16, 1985 because self-incriminating statements had been made without a lawyer present.

On March 25, 1986 prosecutors allowed Leonard to plead guilty to second degree manslaughter. He was sentenced on April 9, 1986 to 15 years. Under New York law at that time, inmates with good records could be released after serving two thirds of their sentence, and Leonard qualified for release soon afterwards.

Civil legal actions began soon after the fire. On July 5, 1974 a lawyer filed a $2 million suit on behalf of the husband of one victim. By July 8, nine families had retained counsel. On July 9 an attorney for six families filed a notice of claim for $12 million with the Village of Port Chester, alleging negligence in inspections. On July 15 it was reported that Greenwich would be served with a notice of claim for $16 million on behalf of eight victims.