By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — Prosecutors rested their case Wednesday against three Deutsche Bank building demolition supervisors charged with manslaughter in the deaths of two firefighters.
The supervisors are accused of causing the deaths of firefighters Robert Beddia, 53, and Joseph Graffagnino, 33, who were among dozens of FDNY firefighters unable to defend themselves against a raging fire at the lower Manhattan highrise on Aug. 18, 2007 because the water standpipe had been illegally disconnected.
Prosecutors presented dozens of witnesses against John Galt Corp. foreman Salvatore DePaola, 56; Mitchel Alvo, 52, Galt's director of asbestos abatement; and Jeffrey Melofchik, 49, the safety manager for the general contractor Bovis Lend Lease.
The workers allegedly ordered the dismantling of the basement's standpipe emergency water supply system, which made it impossible for firefighters to get water to the higher levels that were engulfed in flames.
At the start of the trial in late March, jurors had been warned the proceedings would last about four months.
"We are actually right on schedule," said Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Rena Uviller on Wednesday.
Jurors were told they would likely hear defense witnesses early next week, as the parties are set to present legal arguments pertaining to the trial to before the judge Wednesday afternoon.
Attorneys for the defendants have argued their clients are the scapegoats and that various government agencies are to blame for not properly inspecting the skyscraper, which stood next to the World Trade Center and was badly damaged in the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
