Criminal Probe Launched in NYC Construction Deaths

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AFL-CIO News Blog

by Mike Hall

The Manhattan district attorney’s office has launched a criminal probe into Friday’s crane collapse in New York City that killed two construction workers. Investigators from the DA’s office seized several boxes of records and computer from the offices of New York Crane and Equipment, which owns the crane.


A spokesman for District Attorney Robert Morgenthau told the New York Daily News:

Everything’s being looked at. We’re going to look into anything that gives us a picture of what the facts and circumstances were of this incident on Friday.

Meanwhile, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the New York City Buildings Department are investigating the collapse, which killed crane operator Donald Leo, 30, a member of the Operating Engineers (IUOE), and Ramadan Kurtij, 27, a construction worker on the ground. It was the second deadly New York City crane collapse this year. In March, seven people were killed when another crane fell.

According to news reports, safety inspectors are looking at a faulty weld on the massive turntable at the top of the crane tower that swivels, allowing the operator’s cab and crane arm to rotate. Witnesses say the cab and arm began swiveling wildly before breaking off and tumbling to the streets.


Read more: http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/06/03/criminal-probe-launched-in-nyc-construction-deaths/

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[defendandprotect]

1. Is it some kind of a secret that the rise of the right/corporatism is dangerous for us all--?????