PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Zappala Does Not File charges in Corsi Case
by Donna P. Spadaro Wednesday, Sep. 17, 2003 at 10:10 PM
dspadaro@usachoice.net (email address validated)

18 Months after the truss collapse that killed Paul Corsi, Zappala decides not to file charges

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala has re-filed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Rev. Henry Krawczyk in the death of Billy Gaines, contrary to the decision of the Deputy Coroner, because he �believes strongly that the guilt or innocence of (Krawczyk) should be heard by a jury�. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorialized that �to do otherwise would have been to dismiss too quickly the concerns of the dead boy�s family and friends�.

It is most unfortunate that Zappala and the PG do not share this opinion about the death of Paul Corsi at the convention center truss collapse. Corsi was crushed to death in February 2002 by a falling steel truss that was secured with nuts too small and too weak to hold its weight. Over a year has gone by since Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht investigated this death and found � failures so blatant and overwhelming that a person could only conclude that the actions, errors and omissions more than rise to a level of recklessness and grossly negligent conduct� and recommended that the Dick Corporation be held criminally liable. In appalling contrast, OSHA found no evidence of criminal violations. T he Dick Corporation was able to �negotiate� with OSHA to have two of the citations issued reclassified as �other than serious� and one dropped completely, that resulted in a reduction of fines to a paltry $12,000.

Zappala chose to blame the workers themselves and stated �the most glaring responsibility would be that of the raising crew�. He egregiously concluded that since the cost involved to rectify the mistake of incorrect nut usage would have been negligible, this �proved� there was no evidence that the Dick Corporation was trying to save money or time by their actions and this then evidently excused them from any criminal responsibility.

Families of victims killed on the job, whose tax dollars fund OSHA, cannot �negotiate� with OSHA like the Dick Corporation did and have no method of readdressing negligence that indeed may be criminal. As my brother, Gary Puleio, was killed in an industrial accident, I have experienced this firsthand. OSHA patronizingly dismisses the concerns of families as due to inexperience or emotional distress. Evidently Dr. Wecht�s findings were written off by OSHA and Zappala in the same condescending manner that family members� concerns are.

Perhaps the fact that Zappala has received campaign contributions from the Dick Corporation in the past, clouded his objectivity and prevented him from seeing that the guilt or innocence of the Dick Corporation should be decided by a jury. To do otherwise would be to dismiss too quickly the concerns of the Corsi family and the families of the nearly 6000 workers killed yearly on the job.

Donna Puleio Spadaro











































From PULP


> September 11, 2003 > News > Feature


Speaking Ill of the Dead
18 months after the truss collapse at the convention center that killed one and injured two, the DA says no one is to blame -- except perhaps the workers themselves

By Jonathan Barnes

In the weeks leading up to ironworker Paul Corsi, Jr.'s death, he had dreams of falling and premonitions that something bad was going to happen. The day before his death, he called his girlfriend from work to tell her that he didn't feel right about being there. She told him to come home, which he did, but she couldn't convince him not to return to work the next day. He was killed the next day when the truss on which he was working fell and crushed him.
Now, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala says Corsi and the other ironworkers at the new David L. Lawrence Convention Center created the situation that caused the accident.

A little more than a year after a coroner's inquest recommended homicide charges against Dick Corp. for Corsi's death on February 12, 2002 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Zappala has declined to press charges against the Pittsburgh-based construction company, which served as the steel erection subcontractor for the project. In an August 29 news conference, Zappala said there was insufficient evidence to press criminal charges against Dick Corp. or any other party for the death of Corsi, 38, who was killed when the 13th of 15 trusses in the convention center collapsed, crushing him and injuring two other workers.

It was those workers to whom Zappala pointed as having the greatest responsibility for the accident. "If you're going to climb the steel, then you've got to see that the connections are made properly," he said. If criminal charges were possible, the "raising crew" of ironworkers laboring on the truss would be charged, he said, adding that there just wasn't enough evidence to charge anyone for the accident. "The contributory responsibility of the raising crew is what this would come down to."

The press conference occurred just weeks before the planned grand opening bash for the convention center, prompting some journalists to question whether or not Zappala's decision was motivated by politics. Zappala has recently indicated his interest in running for state attorney general, and Dick Corp. contributed to his previous election campaign. Zappala categorically denied the charge, saying politics had nothing to do with his decision.

Zappala's conclusions appear to contradict the coroner's inquest findings. Led by Allegheny County Coroner Cyril H. Wecht and presiding attorney Michael C. George, the inquest faulted Dick Corp. for the incident. "The failures at every level of this project are so blatant and overwhelming that...errors and omissions on the part of Dick Corp. more than rise to the level of recklessness and grossly negligent conduct," said Wecht and George's inquest report. "It is the conclusion that the manner of death of Paul Corsi Jr., which had been listed as accidental, be changed to homicide, and that [Dick Corp.] be held criminally liable."

Wecht found that improper nuts were used to fasten the truss together. Smaller, one-inch nuts were used instead of larger, two-inch, heat-treated nuts. The smaller nuts were meant as secondary, or "jam" nuts, to be installed behind the larger ones. At the time, George referred to an "almost cavalier attitude" on the part of Dick Corp. that led to the accident. "The testimony was abundantly clear that the ironworkers were never instructed about the need to use the case-hardened nuts," he said.

Further complicating the situation on the work site prior to the accident was the introduction of new nuts that the manufacturer had cut down from two inches long to one inch long and then shipped to the site. Those new nuts may have caused some of the workers to be confused about which nuts they should use. Zappala did note this fact, but still reserved the majority of blame for ironworkers.

He cited the testimony of ironworker Matthew Abate, who was on the raising crew and brought back the one-inch nut and questioned in his mind whether he'd picked the right nut. "'I figured if they were wrong, somebody would've said something, but I shouldn't have assumed,'" Zappala quoted Abate as saying.

Abate and Corsi were friends as well as co-workers, having "boomed out" together on several jobs. Abate has had nightmares about the experience and has been seeing a psychiatrist to deal with the accident, which seriously injured his shoulder and killed his love for the job. He and other members of the raising crew could not be reached for comment before press time, but an anonymous ironworker who knows them said they all are scattered across the country, working to put their lives back together.

Attending the Zappala press conference was Dick Corp. attorney Efrem M. Grail, who appeared unsurprised by the news. "This district attorney's office spent hours clearly delving into this matter, giving it the attention that justice requires. They stepped up to the plate and reached the right and just position. Dick Corp. has always been and remains a good company," he said.

Though Zappala directed the bulk of the blame at the raising crew, officials at Ironworkers Local 3 in Pittsburgh declined to comment on the matter. Paul Corsi, Sr., on the other hand, did not mince words, saying he strongly disagreed with Zappala's findings.

"How could I not disagree? My son knew his job, and he did his job well. I worked with him, and he was safe," said Corsi. "They talk about the Brotherhood of Ironworkers, but do you think those guys are going to talk down on Dick Corp.? No, they are not."

Corsi would not say whether he would sue Dick Corp. or any other party for his son's death. "I want my son, but I'm never going to get him back," he said. "In three days, my son will be forgotten by all the people in this area. This is the last of the collapse."

In an August 29 press release, Dick Corp. officials said Zappala's decision "verifies our belief that the events of Feb. 12, 2002, were the result of an unfortunate accident, not negligence on the part of our company. In fact, after conducting a thorough six-month investigation, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration did not find any willful or serious violations of controlling federal worker safety laws against Dick Corporation. OSHA did not recommend criminal charges to the U.S. Justice Department, and their investigation officially closed last August.

"As a leader in construction project safety for 80 years, Dick Corporation is committed to ensuring the highest worker safety standards. It is our intent at all times to protect workers from the inherent hazards of construction work. We continue to stand behind our safety record, which is one of the finest in the industry."

Contacted after the press conference, Wecht, who usually is talkative, said he had little to say about Zappala's conclusion. But, like Dick Corp., he defended his record. "We stand by our analysis of the case," Wecht said.

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