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.
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 has been 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 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.
New York City Department of Investigations Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said, “Crane inspectors are entrusted by the City with ensuring that cranes are operated in a way that does not compromise the safety of construction workers or the public. This inspector allegedly betrayed that trust at the most fundamental level by not doing an inspection assigned to him and then making a false record indicating that he did. By responding quickly and forcefully in this case, DOI is making it clear that this kind of dishonesty by a City employee will not be tolerated.”
DOB Commissioner Patricia J. Lancaster said, “Based on the preliminary findings of the ongoing investigation, it is unlikely that a March 4th inspection would have prevented this horrific accident, which we continue to believe was caused by human or mechanical error during the crane jumping operation on March 15th.
“Regardless, Edward Marquette’s behavior is reprehensible. Today I suspended Edward Marquette and I support the most aggressive prosecution possible. The Buildings Department will not tolerate misconduct of any kind. Employees found to have acted inappropriately will be disciplined to the full extent of the law, as has been done according to the Department’s Code of Conduct, issued for the first time in the agency’s history in 2004 and enforced aggressively since then. I applaud DOI’s swift action in bringing charges against this individual.”
