Charges Filed in East Side Crane Collapse

NEW YORK CITY-Manhattan district attorney Robert Morgenthau on Monday indicted a tower crane rigger and his company in the March 2008 East Side construction site accident that resulted in seven deaths. That accident, together with a subsequent fatal tower crane incident in May, prompted the city’s Department of Buildings to issue new regulations last fall.

William Rapetti and his company, Rapetti Rigging Services–both of Massapequa Park, NY–have been indicted on multiple charges of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault, reckless endangerment and failure to file tax returns, according to Morgenthau’s office. The indictment alleges that Rapetti violated numerous provisions of the New York City Building Code, federal regulations and industry standards in the March 15, 2008 crane-jumping at 303 E. 51st St.

Crane-jumping is a standard procedure at construction sites in which sections are attached to the crane’s mast in order to increase its height. At issue, according to the indictment, was a failure to inspect the polyester slings used in the process; one of the slings had pre-existing damage, weakening its capacity.