New York company pleads guilty in employee death case

The charges stemmed from an 8 December 2018 incident in East Patchogue, Long Island, New York, during which employees of Northridge were constructing a metal shed on NCC property. During the construction, one employee fell from an improperly secured shed roof and died.

US Federal Court House in Manhatten, New York. (Photo credit: Adobe Stock)

According to prosecutors, had OSHA standards been followed, NCC could have prevented the death.

The guilty declaration by NCC ends a portion of the nearly six-year legal battle.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 3 April.

The maximum penalty for each of the criminal offences is five years’ probation and a $500,000 fine (or twice the economic gain to the defendant or loss suffered by the victim because of the crime).

Indictment of employee

In late 2023, Richard Zagger, 58, of Blue Point, New York, a supervisor for NCC at the time of the incident, was indicted with conspiracy and obstruction of official proceedings relating to an investigation into a fatal construction accident.

According to the indictment – during OHSA’s investigation of the 2018 death – Zagger made false statements and conspired with others to make false statements to obstruct the federal agency’s inquiry.

Zagger is facing four criminal counts.

The maximum penalty for the conspiracy count and each obstruction count is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the economic gain to the defendant or loss suffered by the victim because of the crime.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.