OSHA's investigation at BigTex Trailer Manufacturing Inc., which does business as CM Truck Beds, found 20 serious violations, one willful and three repeated violations - prompting the agency to propose $535,411 in fines.

U.S. Department of Labor


Oklahoma truck bed manufacturer fined $535K for putting workers at risk,
as OSHA inspectors identify 30 safety, health violations.

Agency issues citations to CM Truck Beds after workplace safety complaint

KINGSTON, Okla. - A complaint of unsafe working conditions led U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors to discover the safety and health of employees at a well-known Oklahoma truck bed fabricator being placed at risk amid nearly two dozen safety and health violations.

OSHA's investigation at BigTex Trailer Manufacturing Inc., which does business as CM Truck Beds, found 20 serious violations, one willful and three repeated violations - prompting the agency to propose $535,411 in fines.

"CM Truck Beds has created an environment where workers may be seriously injured or killed as the scope of these violations clearly shows," said David Bates, OSHA area director in Oklahoma City. "We will not allow this company to continue to disregard worker safety."

In its investigation, begun on July 13, 2016, federal safety and health inspectors found workers who performed spray painting and powder coating did not receive required medical evaluation and respirator fit tests. The agency also cited CM Truck Beds for repeated violations of failing to proof test chain slings and provide welding protection.

OSHA issued citations for a willful violation after inspectors found workers operated hydraulic press brakes without machine guards in place. In addition, they identified 20 serious violations that included failing to:

• Ensure safe use of the spray booth and prevent overexposure.
• Safely cover floor holes, ensure exits are accessible and labeled properly.
• Properly store compressed gas tanks.
• Properly label chemicals.
• Have a hazardous energy control program in place, and to train workers in its procedures.
• Ensure safe use of powered industrial trucks.
• Inspect and guard chain slings and sprockets as required.
• Ensure safety guards were in place on a portable grinder.

To view the citations, visit: https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/BigTexTrailer_1162442.pdf
https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/BigTexTrailer_1162509.pdf

Headquartered in Madill, Big Tex's subsidiaries - CM Trailers and CM Truck Beds - employ about 500 workers in Oklahoma, with 120 of its employees at its newly constructed Kingston facility. The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Oklahoma City Area Office at 405-278-9560.

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A welder killed after he was crushed by a large steel beam at Samuel Grossi & Sons Inc. in Bensalem, PA

Police: Worker crushed to death by beam at Bensalem steel plant

By Peg Quann, staff writer

A welder was killed after he was crushed by a "large" beam at about noon Monday at Samuel Grossi & Sons Inc. on State Road in Bensalem, police said.

Other employees at the structural steel plant discovered the body of the man, who was working alone, under the beam, Bensalem Director of Public Safety Fred Harran said Monday afternoon.

Police wouldn't identify the man but said he was 57 years old. No other details were released.

Harran said police still were investigating and that the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration likely would have its own investigation into the death.

Employees were outside the plant at 2526 State Road, consoling each other with hugs, but none would comment on the incident.

Samuel Grossi & Sons Inc. is the largest fabricator and erector of structural steel in the metropolitan Philadelphia area for over fifty years

Registered Professional Engineers on Staff • 300,000 square foot Facility
Fabrication and Erection of 20,000 tons of steel/year
Samuel Grossi & Sons, Inc. | E & R Erectors | 2526 State Road, Bensalem, PA 19020
Phone: 215-638-4470 | Fax: 215-638-0210

HISPANIC AND ITALIAN GREEDY AND CORRUPT COPS OF JERSEY CITY CAUGHT BY THE FEDS: 12 Jersey City Cops Collected $1M from off-duty work: James Cardinale, Jonathan Hernandez, Melissa Sanchez, etc.

Over 2 years, $1M in off-duty work for 12 Jersey City cops

The 12 officers at the center of a probe of Jersey City police's off-duty jobs program have been identified. (Jersey Journal file photo)
By Terrence T. McDonald | The Jersey Journal
 
on January 10, 2017 at 2:54 PM, updated January 10, 2017 at 4:47 PM




JERSEY CITY -- The 12 Jersey City police officers who have been put on restricted duty related to a federal probe of the police department's off-duty jobs program collected about $1 million total from off-duty work over the last two years, payroll records show.

Two of the officers earned more than their total salaries from off-duty work in 2015. James Cardinale made $110,370 from off-duty work in 2015. Cardinale makes a $106,313 salary. Jonathan Hernandez made $89,120 from off-duty work last year. Hernandez's salary is $76,262.

The dozen cops collected a total of $980,677.50 from off-duty jobs in 2015 and in 2016 through Nov. 16, the last date for which The Jersey Journal has records. The off-duty program earned all participating officers a total of $31.4 million in that time period, payroll records show.

The city confirmed this morning that the officers -- a 12th was added to the list since The Jersey Journal's original report -- have been stripped of their guns and put on non-enforcement duties. The FBI is reportedly investigating whether police officers abused the program and collected money from private companies directly instead of going through the city.

The FBI has declined to comment.

According to a source with knowledge of the investigation, the 12 officers are Ehab Abdelaziz; Juan Berrios; Cardinale; Andrea Fahrenholz; Hernandez; David Leon; Michael O'Leary; Christopher Ortega; Gicella Sanchez; Melissa Sanchez; Victor Sanchez; and Alex Vilas. Ortega is a detective, the rest are police officers.

These 12 officers have been identified as those who have been reassigned by the city, but it's unclear whether these officers are at the center of the FBI probe.

Carmine Disbrow, president of the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association, issued a statement blasting the leak of the officers' names.

"Offering these names up does a disservice to the JCPD, and to the integrity of the investigation," Disbrow said. "This only serves to further someone's personal agenda."






Corruption arrests of Jersey City cops expected, sources say

The probe is focusing on off-duty, private security work.

A law-enforcement source described the 12 officers as "little fish." Five were hired on the same day in 2004, one in 2006, three in 2007, one in 2009 and two in 2012. Sources say retired officers are being investigated as well.

Jersey City police officers are permitted to work off-duty providing security for private companies, which are required by city law to go through the city when seeking officers. The city charges an administrative fee of $12 an hour on top of what the company pays the officer. That fee was expected to total nearly $300,000 for the city last year.

Companies pay the officers between $35 and $100 an hour, depending on the type of work and whether it's on a Sunday or holiday.

This morning, Disbrow asked the public not to rush to judgment.

"Until the facts of this case become more apparent, we ask the public not to rush to judgement, and to keep in mind the tremendous efforts of the JCPD to keep our city safe," Disbrow said. "While we keep an eye on this ongoing investigation, the efforts of our members remain on protecting and serving our community."



========= 12 Jersey City cops placed on restricted duty amid federal probe

The FBI is reportedly investigating the Jersey City Police Department's off-duty private security program. Michael Dempsey | The Jersey Journal (Jersey Journal file photo)

  By Terrence T. McDonald | The Jersey Journal
 
on January 10, 2017 at 10:27 AM, updated January 10, 2017 at 3:30 PM


In the midst of a federal probe of off-duty work performed by Jersey City police officers, the city has stripped 12 cops of their guns and placed them on non-enforcement duty.

The city confirmed the move this morning in a statement from city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill. Morrill did not reveal the names of the 12 officers.

The news comes as the police department braces for arrests that sources with knowledge of the federal probe say are expected this month. The officers are being investigated possibly for taking improper payments in relation to the off-duty work program, according to law-enforcement sources.

"For some time, we have been working with the FBI on an investigation into allegations of misconduct by a number of members of the Jersey City Police Department regarding the off-duty program," Morrill's statement reads. "At this point in the investigation, we have made the decision to take an administrative action to remove the firearms of 11 active members and place them on non-enforcement duties."

A 12th officer was added to the list after Morrill issued that statement. The dozen cops put on modified duty this week have not been charged with a crime.

Carmine Disbrow, president of the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association, asked the public not to rush to judgment.

"Until the facts of this case become more apparent, we ask the public not to rush to judgement, and to keep in mind the tremendous efforts of the JCPD to keep our city safe," Disbrow said in a statement. "While we keep an eye on this ongoing investigation, the efforts of our members remain on protecting and serving our community."



After federal probe, Jersey City revamping off-duty job program for cops

This is the second time Mayor Steve Fulop's administration has announced it will change how the program for assigning off-duty work to officers operates.

Jersey City police officers are permitted to work off-duty providing security for private companies, which are supposed to go through the city when seeking officers. The city charges an administrative fee of $12 an hour in addition to what the company pays the officer. That fee was expected to total nearly $300,000 for the city last year.

One now-former police officer, Juan Romaniello, has already pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and accept corrupt payments and one count of filing a false tax return. Federal prosecutors say Romaniello accepted nearly $230,000 in direct payments for off-duty work.

Federal prosecutors say Romaniello agreed with private companies to cut Jersey City out of the process of hiring off-duty officers; permitted companies to operate without cops at sites where police presence was required; and provided security himself without notifying the city.

Christopher Adams, Romaniello's attorney, said he had no comment on today's city action. Adams said he doesn't know when Romaniello will be sentenced.

"Mr. Romaniello has accepted responsibility for his actions and agreed to plead guilty and face punishment," he said.

When Romaniello's guilty plea was announced in September, federal prosecutors said he orchestrated his conspiracy with "other police officers." At the time, Matthew Reilly, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's Office, declined to say whether his office is considering charges against other cops.

Reilly had no comment on today's city action.

33 dead after a ACT Turkish Airlines Boeing 747-412F cargo plane was destroyed after impacting terrain near Bishkek-Manas International Airport in Kyrgyzstan

Cargo Plane Crashes in Kyrgyzstan, Killing 33


A cargo plane operated by ACT airlines crashed near the capital of Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, killing 33 people, authorities announced on Monday.

The accident took place at about 7:30 a.m. in the village of Dacha Su near Manas International Airport. The victims include four people on the plane and dozens of residents of the village.

Authorities believe pilot error is to blame.

Several injured, including at least three children, were reportedly transferred to a local hospital, according to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Emergency Situations.

The Boeing 747 cargo plane destroyed 15 homes when it crashed.

Boeing released a statement expressing condolences and saying "A Boeing technical team stands ready to provide assistance at the request and under the direction of government investigating authorities."

Turkish Airlines tweeted out its condolences after the incident.

======

Status:

	Preliminary
Date:	Monday 16 January 2017
Time:	07:19
Type:	Boeing 747-412F
Operating for:	THY Turkish Airlines
Leased from:	MyCargo Airlines (ACT Airlines)
Registration:	TC-MCL
C/n / msn:	32897/1322
First flight:	2003-01-13 (14 years )
Engines:	4 Pratt & Whitney PW4056
Crew:	Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Passengers:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:	Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Collision casualties:	Fatalities: 28
Airplane damage:	Destroyed
Airplane fate:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:	1 km (0.6 mls) W of Bishkek-Manas International Airport (FRU) (   Kyrgyzstan)
Phase:	Approach (APR)
Nature:	Cargo
Departure airport:	Hong Kong-Chek Lap Kok International Airport (HKG/VHHH), Hong Kong
Destination airport:	Bishkek-Manas International Airport (FRU/UCFM), Kyrgyzstan
Flightnumber:	TK6491

Narrative:
A THY Turkish Airlines Boeing 747-412F cargo plane was destroyed after impacting terrain near Bishkek-Manas International Airport (FRU). Local sources say all four crew members and 28 persons on the ground were killed.
Flight TK6491 departed Hong Kong on a cargo service to Istanbul. An en route refueling stop was planned at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 shows the aircraft on approach to Bishkek's runway 26 at the time of the accident. It crashed past the end of the runway in an area with houses.

Weather at the time of the accident was poor with a visibility of 150 m and a Runway Visual Range reported for runway 26 of 550 m in freezing fog conditions. Vertical visibility was 100 feet. Temperature was -9°C, Dew point -10°C.

Sources:

» eng.24.kg