The crane collapse at the Azure and New York Crane owner James LommaAn employee of New York Crane, the company that operated the crane that collapsed at the Azure in 2008, plead guilty to criminally negligent homicide and agreed to testify against the owner of the company to avoid a second-degree manslaughter charge that carries a 15-year prison sentence.

According to court documents obtained by the New York Times, Tibor Varganyi was charged with finding a manufacturer to repair the turntables of some of New York Crane’s equipment. He chose a firm in China over two United States companies, because New York Crane owner James Lomma thought the domestic companies couldn’t complete the job fast enough. [more]

From left: Crane owner James Lomma and the Azure at 333 East 91st Street

The owner of the crane company implicated in the deadly 2008 collapse at the Upper East Side’s Azure is suing the construction company that had rented his crane for $1.1 million in damages, the Post reported. The owner, James Lomma, is currently awaiting trial on manslaughter charges after a judge turned down his bid to get the case dismissed last month. He and mechanic Tibor Varganyi were accused of arranging for a cheap welding job on the 200-foot-tall crane, which failed after a month of use. [more]

A judge has upheld manslaughter charges against an owner and a mechanic in connection with a rig collapse at a construction site that killed two workers on the Upper East Side in May 2008, CBS reported. The judge today turned down the defendants’ bid to get the case dismissed and the case is now headed for a trial this spring or summer. Prosecutors said owner James Lomma and mechanic Tibor Varganyi arranged for a cheap welding job on a 200-foot-tall crane at the site of the Azure cond-op at 333 East 91st Street. [more]

The crane company charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide this week for a 2008 crane collapse on the Upper East Side is still operating three tower cranes in New York City, according to the Downtown Express. The cranes, located at the World Trade Center site, the former Deutsche Bank building and at Milstein Properties’ Liberty Luxe condo in Battery Park City, are inspected regularly and are a different type than the one that killed two and injured one when it collapsed during the construction of the Azure condominium on East 91st Street in May 2008, the Department of Buildings said. The operator, New York Crane & Equipment, was indicted along with owner James Lomma and former mechanic Tibor Varganyi and pleaded guilty to the charges Monday. [Downtown Express]

Two corporations, their top executive, and a mechanic have been indicted in the May 30, 2008 91st Street crane collapse incident, which resulted in two deaths and one serious injury. The Manhattan District Attorney has charged New York Crane, J.F. Lomma and owner James Lomma, along with Tibor Varganyi, a former mechanic for New York Crane, with criminally negligent homicide and manslaughter, among other related charges. The defendants were described as “reckless” by District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who said that their alleged negligence at the 333 East 91st Street construction site, the Azure condominium, where Prudential Douglas Elliman agent Ilan Bracha recently took over sales, led directly to the tragic deaths of two construction workers. “We cannot allow individuals and firms to conduct themselves in gross violation of applicable regulations and industry standards,” Vance. “Today’s indictment is an important step not only in holding these defendants accountable for their conduct, but should send a message to the construction industry that profit cannot be put ahead of safety.” Sales launched at the 333 East 91st Street tower more than two years ago, and Bracha told The Real Deal recently that just nine units are currently in contract. At the time of the collapse, 17 contracts had been signed. Sales resumed two weeks later, though whether there was a connection between the decrease in signed contracts and the construction delays that resulted from the accident, is unclear. TRD [more]