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Crane contractor indicted on manslaughter charges in collapse that killed 7
(Newsday (Melville, NY) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) NEW YORK _ The deaths of seven people killed in the catastrophic New York East Side crane collapse were blamed yesterday on the man authorities say should have known better _ the contractor responsible for raising the crane.
William Rapetti, a slight, bespectacled father of three from Massapequa Park, N.Y., was indicted on charges of second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment and assault.
Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said Rapetti's "reckless and negligent rigging practices" on March 15 _ failing to properly stabilize the crane to a condo tower under construction _ led to the East 51st Street disaster.
But his lawyer says Rapetti did nothing wrong, describing him as a crane expert and "a patriot" who worked for free at Ground Zero after he was asked to take charge of the world's largest crane and help search for bodies.
"Bill Rapetti is the expert on cranes," lawyer Arthur Aidala said after the suspect was indicted, arraigned and released on $75,000 bail. "He is the go-to guy in the crane industry. He is the person people look to and admire."
The 22-story crane tumbled across East 51st Street, cutting into one building and damaging terraces on another. Six workers _ including five friends of Rapetti _ and a tourist were killed, and two dozen people were injured.
Rapetti, 48, failed to properly stabilize the crane to a condo tower under construction, Morgenthau said. Instead of using eight protective slings to hoist a 6-ton piece of steel up the crane, Rapetti used four, one of which was defective and snapped while raising the crane, Morgenthau said. The steel collar then plummeted 15 stories, taking another collar with it that held the crane to the building under construction.
"This could have been so easily avoided," Morgenthau said of the failure to use eight slings.
Rapetti's firm, Rapetti Rigging Services in Massapequa Park, was indicted on the same charges. Both pleaded not guilty.
Rapetti said nothing in court, a book about dog psychology tucked into his black leather jacket. His wife, Audrey, buried her head in her hands as the charges were read in court. Neither spoke as they stood next to Aidala outside court, and his brother, Al, later scuffled with a photographer.
(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)
The March 15 collapse was followed 10 weeks later by another unrelated collapse on East 91st Street that killed two workers. The city's building commissioner resigned shortly afterward. That case is under investigation.
In September, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Rapetti's company $220,000 and issued three willful violations _ the most severe _ for failing to inspect the slings and failing to follow proper procedure when raising or lowering a crane.
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(c) 2009, Newsday.
Visit Newsday online at http://www.newsday.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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Copyright ? 2009 Newsday
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