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Deutsche Bank Witness: Inspectors Never Flagged Broken Water Pipe

By DNAinfo Staff on April 25, 2011 7:51pm  | Updated on April 26, 2011 1:51pm

The emergency water supply pipe, or standpipe, that was allegedly dismantled in the basement of the Deutsche Bank building before a fatal fire there.
The emergency water supply pipe, or standpipe, that was allegedly dismantled in the basement of the Deutsche Bank building before a fatal fire there.
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Manhattan District Attorney's Office

By Shayna Jacobs

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — An asbestos laborer who worked in the basement of the Deutsche Bank building before a fatal fire in 2007 testified Monday that several agencies failed to penalize workers for cutting the emergency water supply.

Adolpho Ortiz, 30, said Monday that he and a team of other workers spent weeks cleaning the basement of the Lower Manhattan skyscraper in preparation for a December 2006 inspection by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Buildings and other local and federal agencies.

But when the inspection finally came no one red-flagged the 42-foot missing chunk of standpipe that prosecutors said came down in parts — one piece was cut manually while another crumbled due to a lack of support.

Firefighters Robert Beddia (l.) and Joseph Graffagnino (r.) were killed while responding to a 2007 fire at the hazard-ridden Deutsche Bank building in Lower Manhattan.
Firefighters Robert Beddia (l.) and Joseph Graffagnino (r.) were killed while responding to a 2007 fire at the hazard-ridden Deutsche Bank building in Lower Manhattan.
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FDNY

Firefighters Robert Beddia, 53, and Joseph Graffagnino, 33, died of smoke inhalation while dozens of FDNY responders struggled to get water to the raging fire that would span 15 floors of a 41-story building on Aug. 18, 2007.

Abatement supervisors Mitchel Alvo, 52, Salvatore DePaola, 56, and Jeffrey Melofchik, 49, are charged with manslaughter after ordering the standpipe dismantled, a move that prosecutors say killed two firefighters.

"Government regulators have to look at every single pipe?" defense attorney Susan Hoffinger asked Ortiz, an asbestos abatement worker, on cross-examination.

"Did anyone from the government say, 'Hey, that's a standpipe?' " Hoffinger said.

Ortiz, through a Spanish translator, said that no one identified the standpipe, which supports the defense's claim that inspectors failed to recognize the damaged pipe. He began his testimony Thursday and continued Monday.

Ortiz said he knew that the standpipe provided a water supply to the building in the case of a fire but that he was not in a position to override his bosses' orders and that it was not customary to protest instructions.

In light of prosecutors' objections, he was not permitted to explain that further.

Ortiz testified Monday morning that Alvo, DePaola and Melofchik all came quickly to the basement after he called them to say the standpipe had fallen.

Prosecutors said they not only ordered the breakdown of the standpipe but that they did not replace it before it became a hazard because they were trying to speed up the cleaning process to save money.

Last week, Ortiz said Alvo and DePaola told him to cut parts of the standpipe system, including metal rope hangers, in an effort to expedite the cleaning process prior to the December 2006 inspection.

The Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty St. had been badly damaged on 9/11 and was ordered dismantled by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

The John Galt Corp., for which Alvo and DePaola worked, was hired to clean the hazardous chemicals during te demolition. Melofchik worked for Bovis Lend Lease, the site's general contractor.

Lawyers for the defense have argued their clients would not necessarily have known why taking down the standpipe would have been dangerous. They also argue their clients are "scapegoats" in a bigger picture involving the failure of many agencies to ensure the site was safe.

Testimony will continue Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court with a firefighter who responded to the scene.