Master rigger William Rapetti indicted on manslaughter charges for the March 2008 crane collapse that killed 7 in NYC

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A master rigger was indicted on manslaughter charges in the March 2008 crane collapse that killed seven.

A master rigger indicted Monday for manslaughter in the death of seven people in a horrific East Side crane collapse rejected equipment that could have prevented the disaster, authorities said.

Master rigger William Rapetti was offered new slings to help raise the doomed crane at 303 E. 51st St. only hours before it crashed on March 15, but declined them, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said.

Instead, Rapetti used four slings, not the required eight, including one that was torn and discolored which failed, causing the disaster, Morgenthau said.

Morgenthau would not speculate on why Rapetti turned down the slings. But, he said, “he was willing to risk these lives by failing to use new slings that cost $50,” Morgenthau said.

“What I find most shocking, is where all the rules and regulations required eight straps and the construction manager had them, Rapetti rejected them.” he said. “It could have been so easily avoided.”

The building manager offered Rapetti the slings in a conversation on the 18th floor of the rising luxury condo, where the crucial jumping operation was centered, shortly before the tragedy, Morgenthau said.

Instead, Rapetti used only four slings, including the damaged one, tied them on with a weak knot and failed to protect them from sharp-edged metal as required by Building Code and federal regulation.

Rapetti was indicted on charges of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault and reckless endangerment in the collapse at 303 E. 51st. St.

He faces a maximum of 15 years behind bars, if convicted.

Rapetti also was charged with failure to file corporate income taxes for 2006 and 2007.

His lawyer proclaimed Rapetti’s innocence.

“William Rapetti is determined to help clear his name and demonstrate that he and his company operated and supervised the site in a manner beyond reproach,” lawyer Arthur Aidala said.

As a licensed master rigger, Rapetti was in charge of raising, or jumping, the crane, a job that involved installing a 12,000-pound steel collar around the crane’s mast, which was connected to the 18th floor of the rising luxury condo with
lateral tie beams.

While a crane collar is being connected it is temporarily suspended with nylon slings attached to the mast and collar.
Rapetti attached the four slings with a so-called choke knot, the weakest of three standard knots used in the operation, and tied them around sharp metal edges without protective padding, a violation of both city Building Code and federal law, the indictment said.

When the damaged sling failed, the collar plummeted from the 19th floor, crashing into a collar around the mast at the 9th floor, cutting through it like butter, then hitting a collar on the third floor.

The impact of 36,000 pounds of fast-falling steel severed the crane mast from the building. It toppled on the four-story townhouse on E. 50th St., smashing it and the Fubar tavern on the first floor to bits.

Five other buildings were also badly damaged.