A third high-ranking New York crane bureaucrat is facing allegations of undermining safety regulations, in a case that links the previous arrest of a New York City crane inspector, and an internal investigation into the activities of a New York State crane operator examiner.
Manhattan district attorney Robert Morgenthau said James Delayo, a 26-year veteran of the New York City department of buildings (DOB), and acting chief inspector for cranes and derricks, had been charged with bribe receiving, falsifying business records, offering false instruments for filing, tampering with public records and receiving unlawful gratuities.
The district attorney’s office implicitly linked the arrest with the earlier arrest of New York City tower crane inspector Edward J Marquette, shortly after the March 14 crane collapse that killed seven people, and the New York State inspector general’s investigation into Frank Fazzio.
The district attorney’s office said, “[Delayo’s] arrest is the result of information discovered in two ways: the New York State Inspector General issued a report in April 2008 concerning the licensing of crane operators by the New York State department of labor. During that investigation, they developed information about city licensing of crane operators which they referred to the New York City department of investigation. The New York City department of investigation was already looking into the New York City department of buildings’ division of cranes and derricks. The Manhattan district attorney’s office and DOI have been investigating the spate of construction site incidents in Manhattan.”
As well as prosecuting the inspector, the city is to reinspect all cranes checked by him over the last six months. The city’s Department of Investigations is to conduct a thorough review of procedures and personnel of the Department of Buildings’ Cranes and Derricks Unit.
Delayo was arrested after voluntarily attending the New York County district attorney’s office. At an arraignment proceeding, his lawyer entered no plea. A report in the New York Times states that he had admitted taking bribes, prior to being arrested.
As Delayo inspected mobile cranes, not towers, there is no suggestion his activities were linked to either of the two recent fatal accidents.
East 51st crane not checked
Almost immediately after the first tower crane accident, Edward J Marquette was arrested for falsifying records. In a statement, New York Department of Buildings (DOB) said, “Edward J Marquette, a DOB Inspector assigned to DOB’s Division of Cranes and Derricks, allegedly made a false entry in his Inspector’s Route Sheet for March 4, 2008, falsely indicating that he performed an inspection of the crane located at 303 East 51st Street, Manhattan.”
Marquette was charged under section 175.10 of the New York state’s penal law, for falsifying business records in the first degree, and under section 175.35, offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree. If convicted, he could face up to four years in prison.
On March 4, a local resident had complained to the DOB, saying that the upper part of the crane did not appear to be secured or properly braced to the building. Marquette was sent out to check the condition of the crane, and filed a report saying he had visited the site on the same day, and that the crane was erected according to DOB-approved plans. A second inspection was carried out the day before the accident, and no problems were found.
The day after the accident, Marquette was interviewed by investigators, and told them that he had checked the crane and found no problems. Three days later, the investigators had found evidence that the inspection had not, in fact, taken place. In a second interview, Marquette admitted he had not conducted the March 4 inspection.
Eight of 29 cranes unsafe
Shortly after Marquette’s arrest, buildings commissioner Patricia Lancaster released worrying results of an inspection sweep, and faced a grilling from the city’s council. A survey of tower cranes in New York City, following a collapse that killed seven people, found that eight of 29 had unacceptable violations. On the same day the survey results came out, the city’s Buildings Commissioner told a council hearing that the building where the accident happened should never have received a permit.
Inspectors had visited all 29 tower cranes operating in the city, and found that eight of them had unacceptable violations. Commissioner Lancaster said, “Our inspectors uncovered eight tower cranes with unacceptable violations. The Buildings Department shut down these cranes and required the individuals responsible to immediately address the violating conditions. Cranes that are found to have unsafe violating conditions will not be permitted to operate.”
On the same day the report came out, the commissioner appeared before the city council. The commissioner told the council that the building had been approved without being in accordance with zoning regulations. Councilwoman Jessica Lappin, who represents the area where the collapse happened, asked “You’re telling me this building should never have been approved in the first place?” Commissioner Lancaster admitted this.
After the hearing, Lappin condemned the decision to grant approval to the building, and to the tower crane that collapsed. The Department of Buildings sought to minimise the importance of the approval error, arguing that the errors in the approval process related to small mistakes about the dimensions of the building.
Days later, Lancaster resigned from her position at the Department of Buildings. As the city searches for a replacement, regulations demanding the department be headed by a licensed architect or engineer have been questioned.
Examiner accepted bribes
The first signs of a problem stretching across the state came last year, when an investigation was opened into allegations that state operator certificates were being issued improperly.
Frank Fazzio was investigated after it was found that he had issued more than 200 improper certificates to operators in New York State who had failed practical exams. Due to the time passed since the certificates were issued, no criminal case could be made (and, it should be said, a criminal case may not have been warranted).
Specifically, the district attorney’s office said, “The complaint alleges that the defendant, on numerous occasions between 2002 and 2007, met with the owner of a Long Island-based crane company and accepted numerous bribes for passing individuals whether or not they had passed the written or practical exams.
“On one occasion, he accepted a $500 bribe for passing an individual who had not even taken the examination. In 2004, the defendant is also charged with giving a copy of the crane operator’s examination to a crane company operator in exchange for $3000.
“All cranes must be inspected yearly. The defendant is charged with accepting bribes, ranging from $200–$500, to re-certify cranes that he had not actually inspected and then filing false paperwork with the New York City Department of Buildings.”
