PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release on November 4, 2005

Contact: William J. Smith (718) 556-7150
William.Smith@rcda.nyc.gov

D.A. Donovan: Manslaughter & Related Charges in 2003 Death of Immigrant Laborer at S.I. Construction Site

***Kenneth Formica, 45, named in 7-count Indictment related to December 15, 2003 death of Immigrant Laborer, Lorenzo Pavia, in the Collapse of an Unsafe Trench ***

STATEN ISLAND, NY – Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. today announced the indictment of the owner and site supervisor of a Staten Island construction firm in relation to an incident which claimed the life of a Mexican immigrant laborer. In Richmond County State Supreme Court, a 7-count indictment was unsealed against Kenneth Formica (DOB: 6/15/1960) of West Brighton, Staten Island. He has been charged with: Manslaughter in the 2nd Degree, Criminally Negligent Homicide, four counts of Reckless Endangerment in the 1st Degree, and one count of Assault in the 3rd Degree.

“Thanks to OSHA and New York City standards, workers in this community, should be able to go about earning a living and supporting their families without fear of serious injury or death,” stated District Attorney Donovan, “This indictment alleges that Kenneth Formica, did, on two separate occasions, recklessly and with grave indifference to human life, order his workers to operate in an unsafe trench. In one instance, the collapse of that unsafe trench led to the death of one man, the injury of another, and placed several other workers and firefighters at great risk.”

The charges against Formica, an officer and site supervisor for Formica Construction, Inc., relate to a 12/15/03 incident in which a trench collapsed at a residential building site in the vicinity of Taylor St. and DeGroot Place. Lorenzo Pavia, 39, died at the site while working at the bottom un-shored trench, ranging in depth from 11 to 15 ft., which collapsed. Another worker, John Paci, was injured in the collapse. Under standards set by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), all trenches deeper than 5 ft. deep must be shored or sloped. Formica, who operated the excavator which dug the trench and directed workers to operate there, is alleged to have failed to abide by these regulations and also endangered the lives of other workers and firefighters who jumped into the trench to try to rescue the workers.

Formica has also been indicted on a charge of Reckless Endangerment in the 1st Degree, for a March 4, 2003 incident during construction in front of 1400 Clove Road. Formica is alleged to have acted with depraved indifference to human life by digging an unsafe trench at the location and directing a construction worker to work inside the trench. At the time of the occurrence, inspectors from the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) uncovered the dangerous condition and ordered a Formica worker from the un-shored trench.

The District Attorney added, “The safety standards for excavations and trenches of this type are explicit and easily complied with. No worker, regardless of the job, should be exposed to the danger posed by an un-shored trench. The lives of construction workers are not a dispensable commodity. Failure to protect your workers in this way is a crime and will be prosecuted.”

Assistant District Attorney Paul A. Capofari, Deputy Chief of the Supreme Court Bureau, and ADA Carol Villegas will be prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Timothy J. Koller, Executive Assistant District Attorney. Their investigation was assisted by Michael Quinn, Compliance Safety and Health Officer for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration- Avenel Area Office, part of the U.S. Department of Labor, Detective Nigel Bristow of the NYPD 120 Detective Squad, investigators from the New York City Department of Transportation and members of the Fire Department of the City of New York.

He was arraigned on the indictment today in Staten Island State Supreme Court, St. George before Judge Leonard Rienzi where he entered a plea of not guilty and was released on his own recognizance. He is due back in court on December 22, 2005. Formica faces a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted of the top count of the indictment. The defendant is being represented by Joseph Sorrentino, Esq.

The public is reminded than an indictment is merely an accusation, and that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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