J&M Metro General Contracting

Description

At approximately 11:00 am, 3 employees were smoothing concrete along the edge of a building, outside of a wire cable protective fence, without harnesses or any fall protection. The owner of J&M Metrotech Development Corp., Salvatore Schirripa, saw that the wire cable fence installed by the steel subcontractor, J&M Metro General Contracting Corp., was set in several feet from the edge, leaving an unprotected work surface between the fence and the edge. Schirripa knew that his workers would have to step outside the protective fence to install wire mesh prior to the concrete pour and to smooth the concrete once poured. Yet Schirripa did not provide harnesses or other fall protection to his employees. While walking backwards, using a rake-like instrument to smooth the concrete in front of him, Vidal Sanchez-Ramon, reached the edge and fell six floors to his death. On four different occassions prior to the incident, NYC Department of Buildings inspectors had served Metrotech Development Corp., and its owner, Salvatore Schirripa, at three different worksites, with Notices of Violations, ordering them to immediately provide guardrail systems and handrails to protect workers from falls. After hearings on 3 of the Notices, the Environmental Control Board issued decisions reaffirming the obligations. Also, at a worksite in Brooklyn, OSHA safety complaince officers had ordered the company and owner to provide fall protection to their employees in compliance with OSHA regulations. Schirripa also failed to obtain workers’ compensation insurance or to contribute to an unemployment insurance fund for employees, going so far as to submit a false certificate of coverage to the NYC Department of Buildings.

Prosecutors

Assistant District Attorney Meredith McGowan