NEW YORK – A defense lawyer says a former New York City crane inspector charged with lying about examining a rig that later collapsed and killed seven people is being scapegoated for the disaster.
Summations began Wednesday in Edward Marquette's trial on charges of falsifying records.
The case arose in the aftermath of the March 2008 crane collapse. But Marquette isn't charged with any crime directly related to the crane's fall.
Manhattan prosecutors say Marquette's "route sheet" — or work log — showed an inspection he didn't actually do 11 days before the collapse. Authorities say an inspection likely wouldn't have prevented the disaster, however.
Defense lawyer Andrew Freifeld says prosecutors are making too much of petty discrepancies in route sheets in a workplace where rules about them were "flexible."
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