Rigger in Crane Collapse Pleads Not Guilty to Manslaughter

According to the New York Times on Monday, "When William Rapetti, a rigging contractor, arrived at a high-rise construction site on East 51st Street to raise a crane last March, the construction manager offered him a set of fresh slings for the job, prosecutors say. Mr. Rapetti refused the slings, a decision that led to a devastating accident that killed seven people, Robert M. Morgenthau, the Manhattan district attorney, said on Monday."

"Instead, Mr. Rapetti used four of his own slings, one of them badly worn, Mr. Morgenthau said. When one of the slings, used to stabilize the 22-story crane, snapped, a six-ton metal collar that had supported the crane fell from the 18th floor, destroying two other collars below as it slid down, the district attorney said. Eventually, the crane toppled from 51st Street onto 50th Street, gravely damaging several buildings."

"Mr. Rapetti, 48, of Massapequa Park, N.Y., and his company, Rapetti Rigging Services, were charged in an indictment unsealed on Monday with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault and reckless endangerment."

The information provided by the NY Times in yesterday's article is worth reading! It outlines some of the alleged violations that led to the accident. Click Here to Read the rest of the story in the NY Times.