Senior NYC crane inspector accused of corruption

[UpInArms]

Source: Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) -- A senior city buildings official signed off on crane inspections he didn't perform and helped crane operators cheat on licensing exams in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribes, but his actions do not appear to be connected to two recent fatal crane collapses, authorities said Friday.

James Delayo, acting chief inspector with the Department of Buildings' cranes and derricks division, was released without bail after he was arraigned Friday. He is charged with bribe receiving, tampering with public records, falsifying business records, filing a false instrument and receiving unlawful gratuities. He entered no plea and his lawyer, Lawrence Linzer, declined to comment.

Delayo accepted thousands of dollars in bribes over a period of several years from a crane company, Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said in a statement.

Delayo's actions apparently had no connection to two crane collapses this year that left nine people dead, Hearn said. Those cranes were both tower cranes, not the mobile cranes at the center of this investigation, although Delayo was also in charge of inspections for tower cranes.

It is troubling that an official responsible for ensuring that cranes are safe in New York City would be "selling out his own integrity in a way that compromised public safety," Hearn said.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CRANE_INSPECTOR_CHARGED?SITE=MOCOD&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-06-06-21-52-33

[speedoo]

1. Here's the NYT on this...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/07/nyregion/07crane.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

This isn't going to be good for Bloomberg's future political plans.

[JI7]

2. i see he has stopped being mentioned as potentinal VP for both candidates

i never understood his popularity even before this though. i wouldn't be surprised if Ghouliani is partly to blame for some of these problems also.

too bad Spitzer got involved in that prostitution mess as he actually goes after these assholes.

[speedoo]

3. VP? I don't see Bloomberg as Obama's VP.

He very capable and he's been a fine mayor, but I really don't see how he could help Obama.

And I think Bloomberg is way too smart to hook up with McCain. That's a losing proposition for him in so many ways.

I think he will be NY's next Governor. And yes, you can be very sure that Rudy had a lot to do with the NYC building department corruption problems.

[liberal N proud]

4. Wasn't that the story several months ago when a crane fell?

That someone was falsifying inspections reports? Is this the same guy or the corruption is just that deep?

[truthisfreedom]

5. Culture of corruption, rotten from the head down.

Troubling, indeed.

[Carnea]

6. I'm shocked I tell you shocked....

This has been a problem since the late 6th century BC when Heron of Athens looked the other way as substandard lewis tongs were used. I'm sure a new mayor will clean this right up....