Passaic mayor admits taking $110,000 in corrupt payments from developers
NEWARK, NJ – The mayor of the City of Passaic today admitted taking $110,000 in corrupt payments from developers doing business in the city, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Alex D. Blanco, 44, of Passaic, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of soliciting and accepting corrupt payments in connection with City of Passaic business.
“The conduct admitted by Mayor Blanco demonstrates an aggressive and appalling greed,” U.S. Attorney Fishman said. “By soliciting these payments from developers, he took for himself federal money that was intended to help provide housing for the city’s poorest residents. We expect our public officials to behave differently.”
“Public corruption is one of the FBI's top priorities,” Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher of the FBI Newark Division said. “Today's guilty plea by Passaic Mayor Alex Blanco is indicative of how diligently the FBI and our law enforcement partners work corruption matters. We will continue to investigate allegations of public corruption thoroughly to ensure any person who misuses their public office for private gain is held accountable.”
“The mayor’s guilty plea is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our special agents and their law enforcement colleagues - job well done,” Special Agent in Charge Terence S. Opiola, Homeland Security Investigations, Newark Field office, said.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: From 2010 through 2012, two developers were seeking to build eight low-income residential units on property they owned in Passaic. After the Passaic City Council and the Passaic Zoning Board of Adjustment granted approval, Blanco – who has been mayor since November 2008 – had an intermediary approach the developers in July 2011. The developers were told they were expected to provide a sizable payment to the mayor to ensure that the project would proceed.
November 17, 2016
Ohio worker's death highlights grim 2016 national stat:
trench collapse fatalities have more than doubled
OSHA cites 33-year-old man's employer for willful, serious safety violations
WASHINGTON
TOWNSHIP, Ohio - OSHA cited an Ohio company after a 33-year-old
employee was crushed to death in June 2016 as he was digging soil out of
the 12-foot trench in Washington Township, when the trench walls around
him collapsed - burying him in thousands of pounds of dirt. Rescue
workers recovered his body a few hours later.
He
is one of 23 workers killed, and 12 others who reported injuries in
trench collapses in 2016. Trench collapses are rarely survivable. One
cubic yard of soil can weigh up to 3,000 lbs. - the weight of a small
automobile - giving a worker in a trench little chance of survival when
walls of soil collapse.
"Trench
deaths have more than doubled nationwide since last year - an alarming
and unacceptable trend that must be halted," said Dr. David Michaels,
assistant secretary of labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
"There is no excuse. These fatalities are completely preventable by
complying with OSHA standards that every construction contractor should
know."
An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found his employer, KRW Plumbing LLC, did not provide trench cave-in protection for its employees. OSHA cited the company for two willful
and two serious safety violations on Nov. 8, 2016, after the agency
completed its investigation into the June 15, 2016, death and a
subsequent investigation opened in October 2016.
The
employee was part of a crew installing a sewer line at a residential
home under construction in the 400 block of Claxton Glen Court. The
agency's investigation found earlier that same day, a portion of the
trench had collapsed and the worker was able to escape. Agency
inspectors also learned the same worker was involved in a trench
collapse about a month earlier at another construction site, because
trench cave-in protection was not provided, leading OSHA to open a
separate investigation in October 2016.
"This
man's life could have been saved by following OSHA's safety standards
that require cave-in protection in a trench more than 5-feet deep," said
Ken Montgomery, OSHA's area director in Cincinnati. "Excavating
companies need to re-examine their safety procedures to ensure they are
taking all available precautions - including installing trench boxes,
shoring and other means to prevent unexpected shifts in the soil that
can cause walls to collapse. Soil and other materials must also be kept
at least two feet from the edge of trench to prevent the spoils from
falling back into the open trench."
While investigating the fatality OSHA found KRW Plumbing:
Did not provide trench cave-in protection.Failed to protect workers from excavated material failing or rolling into a trench or failing from inside the trench walls.Failed to trained workers in recognizing trench hazards. Proposed penalties total $274,359. View citations for June inspection here, and October inspection here.
OSHA has a national emphasis program on trenching and excavations. Trenching standards require protective systems on trenches deeper than 5 feet, and soil and other materials kept at least two feet from the edge of trench.
Based in Jamestown, KRW Plumbing has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report 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 Cincinnati office at 513-841-4132.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
# # #
Charges possible in trench death
Report: Owner ‘did not tell the truth’ about hole where worker died.
By Mark Gokavi - Staff Writer
Updated: 5:39 p.m. Friday, June 17, 2016 | Posted: 12:56 p.m. Friday, June 17, 2016
The employer of the man killed Wednesday after a trench collapsed on him initially “did not tell the truth” about the hole’s depth and could face criminal charges, county records show.
The body of KRW Plumbing worker James Rogers was recovered several hours after a trench he was in collapsed at a Washington Twp. construction site early Wednesday afternoon.
A Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office report obtained by the Dayton Daily News on Friday indicates KRW Plumbing’s owner initially told deputies the trench on Claxton Glen Court was seven feet deep.
When Occupational Safety and Health Administration representatives arrived, Rick Williams of KRW “admitted the trench was 12 feet deep,” according to sheriff’s office records.
The report also states OSHA investigators would present their findings to the Department of Justice for possible criminal charges against Williams “due to lack of proper safety precautions at the job site.”
The report did not specify what the safety precautions involved. A trench five feet or deeper requires a protective system unless the excavation is made entirely in stable rock, according to OSHA.
Attempts to contact Williams on Friday were unsuccessful. An OHSA official in Cincinnati said Friday she was not aware of the sheriff’s office report but would seek to obtain a copy.
OSHA Assistant Area Director Gaye Johnson referred further inquiries to the Department of Labor in Chicago. OSHA’s investigation could take up to six months, said Scott Allen, that department’s director of public affairs.
“It won’t be just about this incident,” he said. “We’ll look at the company and try to determine if all of the (OSHA) standards and regulations” are met.
Allen said “OSHA would consider forwarding a recommendation for criminal charges if the violations were willful and egregious.”
Rogers, 33, of Winchester in south central Ohio, was laying piping in the trench made of hard-packed clay at 463 Claxton Glen near Marshall Road when the collapse happened shortly before 2 p.m. Wednesday.
More than two dozen safety vehicles responded from multiple jurisdictions, and a portion of Marshall Road was closed for hours. Dozens of police and fire personnel responded before his body was recovered shortly after 9 p.m., said Bill Gaul, Washington Twp. fire chief.
Rogers was working in the trench dug by Williams on a new home construction site when the company owner saw dirt from the sides of the hole had collapsed, burying Rogers, according to the sheriff’s office report.
“Williams immediately screamed out loud and ran to the trench and began digging with a shovel in an attempt to free Rogers,” the report states. “Williams said he heard ‘groaning’ from Rogers, but Rogers was unable to speak.”
KRW worker Ron Ison Jr., who had been dumping gravel in the trench to properly place sewer pipe, heard Williams scream and began helping him dig to free Rogers, the report indicates.
Ison said he continued digging until Washington Twp. fire officials told him to stop “as it was too dangerous to continue digging in the unstable trench,” according to the report.
The trench was one of the deepest the regional technical rescue team has encountered, its coordinator, Washington Twp. Fire Capt. Michael Guadagno has said. The rescue team’s equipment is only made for trenches eight feet deep, and he has said the team had to custom build shoring while on site.
Rescue personnel could not recover the body until shortly after 9 p.m., when they found it about 10.5 feet down, according to the report.
November 17, 2016
OSHA issues final rule updating walking-working surfaces standards
and establishing personal fall protection systems requirements
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today issued a final rule updating its general industry Walking-Working Surfaces standards specific to slip, trip, and fall hazards. The rule also includes a new section under the general industry Personal Protective Equipment standards that establishes employer requirements for using personal fall protection systems.
"The final rule will increase workplace protection from those hazards, especially fall hazards, which are a leading cause of worker deaths and injuries," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "OSHA believes advances in technology and greater flexibility will reduce worker deaths and injuries from falls." The final rule also increases consistency between general and construction industries, which will help employers and workers that work in both industries.
OSHA estimates the final standard will prevent 29 fatalities and more than 5,842 injuries annually. The rule becomes effective on Jan. 17, 2017, and will affect approximately 112 million workers at seven million worksites.
The final rule's most significant update is allowing employers to select the fall protection system that works best for them, choosing from a range of accepted options including personal fall protection systems. OSHA has permitted the use of personal fall protection systems in construction since 1994 and the final rule adopts similar requirements for general industry. Other changes include allowing employers to use rope descent systems up to 300 feet above a lower level; prohibiting the use of body belts as part of a personal fall arrest system; and requiring worker training on personal fall protection systems and fall equipment.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education, and assistance. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.
# # #
Contractor exposes workers repeatedly to potential deadly or disabling fall hazards at Middletown roofing job
M&M Roofing faces almost $185K in OSHA penalties for willful, repeat violations
PROVIDENCE, R. I. – A Wolcott, Connecticut, contractor repeatedly exposed its employees to falls of 18 feet while performing roofing work in Middletown, an inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.
OSHA inspectors observed M&M Roofing employees working with inadequate fall protection atop a roof at 55 Rodgers Lane while driving by the address on May 4, 2016. Specifically, the employees were wearing safety harnesses but the harnesses were not connected to any anchor to prevent the workers from slipping or falling off the roof. The inspectors immediately opened an inspection and instructed the foreman to have the employees anchor their harnesses, which they did. When inspectors returned to the worksite on May 6, 2016, and May 12, 2016, they again found workers’ safety harnesses unattached to anchors to prevent them from falling.
“This employer exposed its employees deliberately to potentially deadly or disabling falls on multiple occasions, and has a history of fall-related violations at job sites in Connecticut. This is unacceptable,” said Patrick Griffin, OSHA’s Rhode Island area director. “Falls are the leading cause of death in construction work. That won’t change unless employers take seriously their responsibility to provide safe working conditions for their employees.”
Specifically, OSHA cited M&M Roofing for:
- One willful violation for inadequate fall protection.
- Three repeat violations for not training employees about fall hazards; ladders that did not extend at least 3 feet above the next level for required stability; and unguarded open holes in the roof. OSHA cited M&M Roofing in 2013 and 2014 for similar violations at work sites in Manchester and Watertown.
- Two serious violations for inadequate ladder safety training for employees and lack of eye or face protection for employees working with pneumatic nail guns and a leaf blower used for cleaning debris.
The proposed fines for these violations total $185,194. The citations can be viewed here.
In 2014, there were 345 fatal falls to a lower level out of 899 total fatalities in construction nationally. These deaths are preventable. OSHA has an ongoing fall prevention campaign to educate and encourage employers to prevent falls by training workers to use safety equipment.
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 Providence office at 401-528-4669.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
OSHA News Release:
11/16/2016
OSHA cites South Florida painting company after worker injured
Flacks Painting & Waterproofing faces nearly $90K in penalties
Employer name: Flacks Painting & Waterproofing Inc.
Inspection site: 1461 S. Ocean Blvd.
Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Florida 33062
Citations issued:Citations were issued to the employer on Nov. 15, 2016.
Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated an investigation after learning an employee suffered neck and back injuries due to a fall. The 48-year-old worker was replacing existing balconies at the North Leisure Gardens community on Ocean Boulevard.
The employee was working from a balcony when it collapsed, causing the worker to fall approximately 18 feet to the ground. After conducting two separate inspections, OSHA cited Flacks Painting & Waterproofing for one willful, four serious and two other-than-serious safety and health violations.
The willful citation was issued to the employer for not ensuring the walking and working surface where employees were working was strong enough to support the workers.
OSHA issued serious citations to the employer for:
- Failing to ensure the scaffold was fully planked.
- Failing to ensure adequate support of the scaffold’s poles, legs, post and frames.
- Failing to provide three-tier scaffolds with a complete guardrail system.
- Failing to ensure a fall protection system was in place for employees.
Two other violations were also cited for failure to develop and implement a respiratory protection program for employees wearing respirators and not developing, implementing or maintaining a written hazard communication program for workers using dangerous chemicals.
Proposed penalties: $89,793
Quote: “This incident was preventable. Had Flacks Painting & Waterproofing provided adequate shoring for the balcony, the worker would not have fallen and suffered serious injuries,” said Condell Eastmond, OSHA’s area director in Fort Lauderdale. “Employers must ensure workers are protected at all times and when safety issues are bought to management’s attention, swift and corrective action must be taken.”
The citations can be viewed at:
Based in Pompano Beach, the company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings 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 Fort Lauderdale Area Office at 954-424-0242.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
OSHA News Brief:
11/16/2016
