Posted: Jun 24, 2010, 3:31 PM
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New Yorker for life
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Borough of Jersey
Posts: 24,984
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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/ny...er=rss&emc=rss
Contractor Investigated in Deutsche Bank Fire Gets a New Job at Ground Zero
By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM
June 23, 2010
Quote:
A contractor that was a focus of a criminal investigation into the fatal fire at the former Deutsche Bank building in 2007, and remains under scrutiny for financial irregularities, has been hired to work on the office tower that the developer Larry A. Silverstein is building at the World Trade Center site, according to city records and people familiar with the inquiry.
The contractor, Regional Scaffolding and Hoisting Company, was issued a permit two weeks ago to install a construction elevator at 4 World Trade Center, according to documents filed with the city. The tower is rising at the southeastern corner of ground zero, across the Trade Center site from 1 World Trade Center, formerly known as the Freedom Tower.
The principals of Regional Scaffolding were central players in the development of the John Galt Corporation, the shell company that prosecutors say was created in 2007 to mask the involvement of another troubled company in the demolition of the Deutsche Bank building, which sits across the street from the rising framework of the new tower.
The Galt company and three supervisors were indicted in 2008 on manslaughter charges in the deaths of two firefighters at the bank building in August 2007; all have pleaded not guilty.
Neither Regional nor any of its principals were charged in connection with the deaths, but several people with knowledge of the inquiry say the company is still the subject of a criminal investigation by the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., over accusations of financial improprieties.
Tishman Construction, the construction manager for Mr. Silverstein’s $2 billion tower, hired Regional to install the elevator, called a hoist in builders’ parlance. More than half the cost of the tower is being financed with tax-free Liberty Bonds.
Bud Perrone, a spokesman for Silverstein Properties, said in a statement that Regional had been used as a hoist contractor on large jobs in New York City and was selected to perform a limited amount of work “because it was judged to be the most qualified responsible bidder.”
The developer is confident, the statement said, that Regional, working under the supervision of Tishman and the developer’s in-house construction team, “will perform their duties responsibly and to the highest safety standards.”
In a separate statement, John Gallagher, a spokesman for Tishman, said Tishman had worked with Regional before and was “satisfied that they can meet the requirements and schedule of the job while adhering to the strictest standards of safety.”
Neither statement addressed the continuing investigation and the integrity issues it raised, and neither Silverstein Properties nor Tishman would disclose the value of Regional’s contract.
A lawyer for Regional, Peter R. Driscoll, said Wednesday that it had been treated unfairly in the Deutsche Bank investigation and that it had taken part in the creation of Galt at the request of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which owned the former bank building and was overseeing the demolition.
“They did exactly what L.M.D.C. wanted them to do,” Mr. Driscoll said, adding that Regional had been asked to take part in the demolition and the creation of Galt because officials of the development corporation had been pleased with their performance on an earlier phase of the project.
“They were invited to do this deal because they did such a great job on the scaffolding,” he said of the work at the bank tower that preceded the demolition.
But possible questions about the creation of Galt or the pending investigation are not the only red flags associated with the scaffolding company.
Indeed, the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, a city agency that tracks vendors and contractors who do business with the city, has placed Regional on a list of companies that it cautions city agencies about doing business with. And the School Construction Authority inspector general, whose office reviews the integrity of contractors seeking to bid on building or repairing schools, has put Regional on the list of contractors that are disqualified from performing school work.
The inspector general for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the property but has no say in whom Tishman or Mr. Silverstein hire, has also cautioned the Port Authority against contracting with Regional, an agency official said.
Charles V. Bagli contributed reporting.
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