Construction workers embrace as rescue crews work at the scene of a crane collapse on New York's Upper East Side on May 30, 2008. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — The owner of a construction company whose cranes collapsed on the East Side in 2008, killing nine people is expected to turn himself in to face manslaughter charges Monday.
James Lomma, the proprietor of New York Crane Company will be charged Monday morning with the deaths of two operators, Donald Leo, 30, and Ramaden Kurtaj, 27, District Attorney Cy Vance said in a statement.
The two cranes that collapsed in 2008 include one at 333 E. 91st Street, where Leo and Kurtaj were killed, and another on E. 51st Street, which killed seven people.
Building inspector Edward Marquette has already been indicted for faking safety tests of the crane at E. 51st Street.
At the time of the deadly crane accidents, Lomma's company owned 11 of 25 high-rise cranes in the city.
Lomma reportedly hired a Chinese company to do a low-priced welding job on the crane that killed seven people on the Upper East Side.
The company asserted that they were not qualified for the work, but took the job anyway when Lomma offered them more money, the News reported.
Lomma could turn himself in as early as Monday morning at Manhattan Criminal Court.
Manhattan's courthouse reopens at 100 Center after being shut down for almost a week due to a fire that broke out.
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