Company Owner Charged With Manslaughter For Shortcutting Safety

From September 2011 to August 2014, ordering Schirripa to provide guardrails and handrail systems to protect workers from falls.

by, Robert Box

The Brooklyn District Attorney has levied manslaughter and other charges against a construction company owner for a worker who fell six stores to his death at a Coney Island construction site in 2015.

Salvatore Schirripa, 66, owner of J & M Metro General Contracting Corp. and Metrotech Development Corp., both located in Brooklyn, New York, was indicted for failing to adhere to safety regulations at his Coney Island construction site that could have saved the life of Vidal Sanchez Ramon.

The District Attorney said that, according to the indictment, on April 1, 2015, J & M Metro General Contracting Corp. workers were pouring and smoothing concrete on the sixth floor of a construction worksite in Coney Island.

At approximately 11 a.m., three of Schirripa’s employees were working along one edge of the building, outside a wire cable protective fence, without harnesses or any fall protection as required by the New York City Building Code and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

While walking backwards, using a rake-like instrument to smooth the concrete in front of him, one of the workers, Vidal Sanchez-Ramon, 50, reached the edge of the building and fell six floors to his death.

Schirripa pleaded “not guilty” to numerous charges before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on June 6^th, including second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment, falsifying business records and violation of the state’s workers’ compensation law.

Four notices of violations had been served to Schirripa in the past for violations from September 2011 to August 2014, ordering Schirripa to provide guardrails and handrail systems to protect workers from falls, but the fall prevention systems were allegedly not properly in place at the time of the fatality.

There were some guardrails installed at the site, but they were three feet from the edge, leaving an unprotected work area between the rail and the edge of the building, and requiring workers to step over the fence to pour concrete.

Personal fall arrest systems (harnesses) are typically provided to workers for these sorts of circumstances.

Since Schirripa was at the site on multiple occasions and noted the deficiency, it is being alleged that Schirripa directed his workers to step outside the protective fence to install wire mesh prior to the concrete pour and to smooth the concrete once poured.

It is further being alleged that Mr. Schirripa did not provide his workers with proper harnesses or training to protect themselves from falls.

Schirripa also allegedly failed to obtain workers’ compensation insurance or to contribute to an unemployment insurance fund for employees of his J&M Corp., submitting a false certificate of coverage to the New York City Department of Buildings, according to authorities.

Schirripa immediately posted $35,000 bail on June 6^th and is expected back in court Sept. 7^th of this year, when he will face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Safety First Consulting is a contributor of SM Corridor News and helps businesses identify OSHA compliance issues in their workplaces, manage their safety programs, and we become accountable for the results. In addition to offering custom written safety programs for companies, Safety First Consulting provides required safety training, industrial hygiene sampling, noise sampling, and workplace inspections. You can read more from Robert Box under Business.