(AP)
The master rigger blamed by prosecutors for causing the horrific East Side crane collapse that killed six of his friends and a tourist from Florida was acquitted of charges yesterday that could have put him in jail for up to 15 years.
“Not guilty,” Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Roger Hayes repeated again and again as a stoic William Rapetti’s shoulders relaxed — and his wife melted into tears behind him in the audience.
Rapetti was charged with seven counts of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault and reckless endangerment stemming from the March 15, 2008, collapse onto an apartment building on East 51st Street. Prosecutors said it was his shoddy job of securing the nearly 200-foot crane that led to the collapse. Rapetti’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, contended that other problems with the structure — having nothing to do with his client — led to the devastating fall.
Rapetti, 49, refused comment after the verdict, but was clearly red-eyed as he hugged family and friends in the courtroom.
Aidala said his client was “not happy, but relieved.”
“These were his best friends. Not just guys he worked with once in a while,” Aidala said. “They were like family.”
He blamed the fall on the crane having not been bolted to the ground and said there were too few girders to support the structure — both issues with which Rapetti was not involved.
Prosecutors blamed the collapse on four heavy-duty polyester slings Rapetti was using to fasten an 11,000-pound steel collar around the crane.
They contended that one worn sling — which should have been inspected and replaced by Rapetti — snapped, leading the other three to follow suit. Tests by an engineer hired by Rapetti showed that even with one sling gone, the others would have held steady.
Hayes didn’t offer any explanation for the verdict, which came after a monthlong, nonjury trial.
Aidala said his client had received support from many of the tragic workers’ widows, including one who told him the only thing that could make her loss worse would have been Rapetti going to jail for it.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said, “We are extremely disappointed by the court’s verdict. At this time, our thoughts go out to the seven victims’ families.”
Aidala said Rapetti, who broke a leg and an ankle in the collapse, was to visit the cemeteries where the workers are buried “to spend some time with his friends.”