New York City Targeting Safety Violations And Corruption In the Construction Industry
New York City is targeting corruption and fraud in the construction industry. On Wednesday, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Office of the Inspector General, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Office of the Inspector General, and the Business Integrity Commission for the City of New York announced the creation of a Construction Fraud Task Force. DOI Commissioner Mark Peters announced, “those who ignore integrity also undermine safety.”
The announcement came on the same day that the Manhattan District Attorney announced indictments of two construction companies for recklessly causing the death of an employee by failing to heed and address repeated warnings about unsafe work conditions at an active construction site. The worker was killed when an unsecured trench collapsed and crushed him. The press release announcing the indictments is available here.