Crane Mechanic Gets Community Service In Deadly Collapse
NEW YORK (AP) - A mechanic has been sentenced to a year of community service for his role in a New York City construction crane collapse that killed two workers.
He pleaded guilty, but his boss went to trial and was cleared of all charges.
Mechanic Tibor Varganyi apologized at his sentencing Tuesday and said he "did not mean to hurt anyone.''
The dead workers' relatives blasted Varganyi for arranging what authorities called a penny-pinching, shoddy repair to a crucial component.
The 200-foot-tall crane collapsed in Manhattan in May 2008, a month after the fix.
Varganyi and crane owner James Lomma were charged with manslaughter. Varganyi pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide. The deal let him avoid jail time if he testified against Lomma.
Varganyi did. A judge acquitted Lomma.
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