Deutsche defendants claim evidence withheld

The defense in the fatal Deutsche Bank building fire filed court documents yesterday alleging that key evidence has been withheld in the case. Lawyers for the four defendants — three construction supervisors and a demolition subcontractor, the John Galt Corporation — said that the prosecution failed to disclose “specific exonerating evidence” during the grand jury hearing that lead to the defendants’ indictment. In their filings, the lawyers claim that the additional evidence “directly contradicts the prosecution’s theory” that the defendants are culpable in the deaths of two firemen killed during the Aug. 18, 2007, blaze. The Bronx-based John Galt Corporation, along with two affiliated firms, filed a foreclosure suit in New York State Supreme Court against the property’s owner, the city-state agency Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and other entities, seeking earnings of $19.6 million, The Real Deal first reported last week.

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