|
Public Employee Press
Killer of Local 376 member gets off easy Sometimes, the scales of justice are off-balance.
On March 1, in a courtroom packed with family, friends and co-workers of the late
Nicky Antico, Justice Leonard P. Rienzi sentenced his killer to 2 1/3 to 7 years
in prison. Vincent Ventafredda, 27, was at the wheel of a speeding SUV
that crashed into the work crew on Staten Islands Slossen Avenue on the
evening of Sept. 22, 2005. While two men recovered from their injuries, Antico,
a member of Construction Laborers, Highway Repairers & Watershed Maintainers
Local 376, was fatally injured. Anticos death at the hands of a
hit-and-run driver deprived his daughter, Arianna, of a father, his wife, Anna,
of a loving husband, and his family, of a beloved brother. Local 376
officers and members have followed the case every step of the way, from the hospital
vigil to the courtroom on March 1. Local 376 President Gene DeMartino
discussed the sentence. The short term Ventafredda is expected to serve left him
with a question: Had our members not been in there from the very first day
and throughout the whole process, would the court have handed down an even lighter
sentence? After its official investigation, the state Labor Departments
Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau cited the city Dept. of Transportation
for violating Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards in the use
of flagging, traffic signs and barricades at the work site. PESH had noted the
lack of a Traffic Control Plan for the site and the lack of proper signs
or setups of traffic control devices to deter things of this nature from happening.
DOT has appealed against the PESH citations to the Industrial Board of Appeals,
which is typically a lengthy process, said Lisa Baum of DC 37s
Safety and Health Dept. Weve been fighting for years in our
safety and health committee to get the proper setups, said Local 376 Treasurer
Thomas Kattou. Now the local is looking into the problem on a statewide
basis. State Sen. Diane Savino has been very responsive. We want to set up a task
force that will address safety concerns in the construction industry, said
Kattou. Jane LaTour | |