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Engineer Who Lied About Inspecting Facade That Killed Baby Avoids Jail Time

By Kathleen Culliton | July 21, 2016 4:32pm
 Maqsood Faruqi lied about inspecting The Esplanade facade, which later broke and killed 2-year-old Greta Greene.
Maqsood Faruqi lied about inspecting The Esplanade facade, which later broke and killed 2-year-old Greta Greene.
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Facebook (inset); DNAinfo/Emily Frost

MANHATTAN — The engineer who lied about inspecting the crumbling building facade that lost a brick and killed a 2-year-old girl in 2015 will not face jail time, according to court records.

Building inspector Maqsood Faruqi, 55, submitted a fake report in which he said the facade of 305 West End Ave. was safe, even though he had never visited the building, the city’s Department of Investigation reported in November.

Four years after Faruqi filed the report, a piece of the brick fell and killed Greta Greene, 2, while she was sitting outside with her grandmother on May 17, 2015.

Faruqi was charged with a felony for submitting the fake report in November and faced a maximum sentence of up to four years in prison, according to the Manhattan District Attorney.

But he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of offering a false instrument in May and was instead sentenced to two years probation, court records show.

Faruqi’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.