Criminal prosecution of the owner of a collapsed tower crane that killed two New York City construction workers in a 2008 accident will proceed next month, according to a Sept. 19 ruling by a state Supreme Court judge. The negligent homicide trial of James F. Lomma, the former head mechanic and two firms the owner controlled is set to start in mid-November in Manhattan.
Sources close to the case say it is likely to be a "bench" trial, with a ruling by the trial judge rather than a jury.