The manslaughter trial began on June 22 for a New York City crane rigger accused of causing a 2008 crane collapse in midtown Manhattan that killed seven, including the entire rigging crew and a civilian. The Manhattan district attorney has maintained that William Rapetti and his company, Rapetti Rigging Ser-vices, Massapequa Park, N.Y., are responsible for the March 15, 2008, collapse. But the defense team continually has pushed to prove other causes, claiming Rapetti did not do “anything wrong” in preparing the 200-ft tower crane to be “jumped,” or extended, from the 18th floor of a rising condo on East 51st Street. Rapetti, 49, was licensed by the city’s Dept. of Buildings (DOB) to supervise crane jumps and was a member of Local 14 of the operating engineers’ union. He was indicted in 2009 on multiple charges of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault and reckless endangerment. If convicted, he could face up to a total of 27 years in prison.
Throughout opening arguments and much of the first week of testimony, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Sean Sullivan, using reports from both the DOB and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, claimed that, during the jumping process, Rapetti used four nylon slings to secure the crane’s six-ton steel collar to its mast. The slings, prosecutors say, snapped because Rapetti “carelessly” and “recklessly” failed to follow the manufacturer’s Favelle Favco M440E crane specifications, which called for eight slings. In addition, prosecutors have alleged that at least one of the slings was sun-faded, torn and improperly tied to edges and corners.