The Brooklyn District Attorney has filed manslaughter charges against the troubled contractor whose willful negligence is believed to have caused the death of a construction worker last year.
The charges come more than a year after the collapse of a masonry wall at a Sunset Park construction site, which left Luis Sanchez Almonte trapped beneath a pile of debris during a heavy storm in September of last year. First responders were unable to remove the body of the 47-year-old father and Inwood resident until the following day.
Authorities say that contractors with WSC Group Inc. had known conditions at the site were highly unsafe, but refused to halt the work. Instead, they allegedly insisted that additional truckloads of dirt be hauled from the property, placing laborers in a precarious situation and violating the city's safety standards.
According to prosecutors, the operator of WSC, Jimmy Liu, and the site's foreperson, William Garcia, were repeatedly warned by their own workers about the insufficient reinforcement. They were also allegedly told by a nearby resident that the rear wall to her patio and garage had caved in, indicating the site was dangerously destabilized.
"We allege that the dangerous conditions at the site–which had been reported by laborers and neighbors–were ignored by these defendants and directly led to the death of Luis Almonte Sanchez, a 47-year-old family man," Gonzalez said in a statement.
Their planned excavation and bracing procedures also differed from a blueprint submitted to the Department of Buildings, an investigation found. Paul Bailey, an engineer, was acting as the Special Inspector at the site, and was tasked with ensuring compliance with all building and administration codes.
On Thursday, Liu, Garcia, and Bailey, along with the WSC Group and Bailey's Engineering PC, were all charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. The co-owner of WSC Group, Jia Rong "Tommy" Liu, and the company's bookkeeper, Cindy Chai, were also charged with offering a false instrument for filing. The defendants were also variously charged with insurance fraud, violating workers' compensation laws, grand larceny, criminal possession of a forged instrument, and criminal tax fraud.
Both Jimmy Liu and Garcia were previously swept up in a massive bribery scandal in 2015 that resulted in charges for more than 50 property managers and department of buildings employees. Liu ultimately pleaded guilty on felony bribery charges, and was sentenced to 38 days of community service and a $5,000 fine.
“Despite a construction-related conviction for attempted bribery a few years earlier, the construction company operator allegedly continued to play fast and loose with safety protocols, taking shortcuts to increase profit margins – this time with deadly consequences," Gonzalez added. "As new construction continues to proliferate in Brooklyn, it is incumbent upon builders to put safety first."
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November 22, 2019 at 02:55AM
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Allegedly 'Fast And Loose' Contractor Charged With Manslaughter After Deadly Wall Collapse - Gothamist
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