NYPD image

Two years after a collapsing crane killed two workers on the Upper East Side, the crane company’s owner—in addition to an employee and the company itself—is expected to face charges of manslaughter. When two cranes came crashing down in 2008, the Manhattan DA launched an investigation of James Lomma that turned up evidence the machinery wasn’t properly repaired after being struck by lightning. "In answer to the question about how I feel about Jimmy Lomma being taken away in handcuffs, I say it's a start and about time,” said one of the workers' fathers. “It will never bring my son back...but it might finally be the beginning of paying real attention to the safety of workers who risk their lives to feed their families."

New York Crane and Equipment Corporation sent its giant tower cranes to a Chinese company to be repaired, reports the Daily News. The cut-rate company didn’t think it could do the job: “And honest speaking we dont have confidence on this welding,” Joyce Wang of RTR wrote in a message dated June 7, 2007. But Lomma's company offered more money, and it complied. Another 2008 collapse killed seven.

According to the Times the crane disasters have “led to increased training for crane inspectors and new safety guidelines for erecting and dismantling cranes.” In the wake of the tragedy Michael Carbone, the city inspector who approved the cranes, resigned. Another inspector Edward J. Marquette was indicted for falsifying crane inspection reports and James Delayo, the city’s chief crane inspector, was found guilty of having taken bribes to get the company past inspections.