Six years after Pier 34 South by Penn's Landing collapsed, killing three young women at a nightclub, the two men who ran the pier will soon face a criminal trial to determine whether they knew the pier could soon cave in.

Selection of a jury for pier owner Michael Asbell, 64, of Merion, and Heat nightclub operator Eli Karetny, 65, of Cherry Hill, starts today. A long trial is expected, with scores of witnesses, including a key expert.

The trial, before Common Pleas Court Judge Sheila Woods-Skipper, comes after the District Attorney's Office fought for years to get the felony charges reinstated.

Said Asbell: "We're just happy that the trial has finally arrived, and it will give us a chance to tell our story." Karetny declined to comment.

Thomas Bergstrom, Asbell's lawyer, said the trial could last four to six weeks after a jury is selected, which he said would take at least two days.

Defense lawyers wanted to hold the trial outside the city or bring in non-Philadelphia jurors. Common Pleas Court Judge Benjamin Lerner denied that request in October, ruling that press coverage had not been prejudicial.

The collapse occurred May 18, 2000. DeAnn White, 25, of Germantown, and Monica Rodriguez, 21, and Jean Marie Ferraro, 27, both of Cherry Hill, were inside Heat at the end of the pier, just south of Penn's Landing.

The pier collapsed about 8 p.m., bringing down with it the nightclub and its patrons, many of whom fell into the murky Delaware amid splintering boards and debris.

Ferraro's mother, Eileen, mother, said she could not comment before the trial because prosecutors had asked relatives not to speak to reporters. The District Attorney's Office also said it would not comment before the trial.

Each faces felony charges of risking a catastrophe and criminal conspiracy. They also face these misdemeanors: three counts of involuntary manslaughter, failure to prevent a catastrophe, and 43 counts of reckless endangerment.

The two third-degree felony charges carry a maximum prison term of 14 years. But if Asbell and Karetny are convicted, the judge would likely look at sentencing guidelines, which are less severe than the statutory maximums, and the defendants' backgrounds in determining appropriate sentences, said Fortunato Perri Jr., a criminal-defense lawyer who previously served in the District Attorney's Office.

Conroy's "biggest strength is his preparation and his humility," Perri said. "He comes across as a regular neighborhood guy to members of the jury."

Bergstrom, Asbell's lawyer, defended former City Councilman Rick Mariano in his federal criminal corruption trial. Karetny will be defended by Frank DeSimone, Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua's lawyer during the Catholic clergy sex-abuse investigation.

Prosecutors have contended that the defendants disregarded warnings that a collapse was imminent and instead opened the property for business the night of the collapse.

Asbell and Karetny have maintained they were never warned of the pier's imminent collapse. A 1992 filing listed Asbell as treasurer and Karetny as president of Pier 34 Associates Inc.

A key witness will likely be Jesse Tyson, a pier expert who worked for an engineering firm hired to do repairs on the pier. He testified in the preliminary hearing that he had warned Asbell and Karetny hours before the collapse that the pier, built in 1909, would fall at low tide that night or the next morning.

In June 2000, a grand jury began reviewing evidence to determine whether anyone associated with the pier should be charged. In its report, it said Asbell and Karetny had received repeated and specific warnings that the pier was on the verge of collapse. The District Attorney's Office filed criminal charges in 2001.

In 2002, however, Common Pleas Court Judge Lerner dismissed a felony charge of risking a catastrophe. By statute, he said, the charge required the use of fire, explosives, or other dangerous means. As a result, a lesser felony of criminal conspiracy was also discharged.

The District Attorney's Office fought to get the felony charges reinstated on appeal. While a Superior Court panel in 2003 upheld Lerner's decision, the state Supreme Court reinstated the felony charges in August 2005.

In 2004, the families of the three women killed and others who were injured reached a $29.6 million settlement of civil lawsuits with Asbell, Karetny and other defendants.

Before the collapse, the city's piers were unregulated. Afterward, the Department of Licenses and Inspections took on the task of making sure piers are safe.

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