10.06.2008

Crane company accused in bribery case

New York’s Department of Buildings has issued stop-work orders on the 14 cranes operating in the city that are owned by Nu-Way Cranes. The company has been linked to the bribery scandal involving the city’s acting chief inspector for cranes and derricks.

A spokeswoman for the department is quoted by several local reports as saying that Long Island-based Nu-Way had 13 mobile cranes and one tower crane operating on sites in the city. She also said that it is evaluating the licenses that were originally issued to the Nu-Way operators.

Last week, James Delayo was arrested and charged with receiving bribes, falsifying business records and tampering with public records. He was also charged with receiving unlawful ‘gratuities’.
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Nu Way has been criticised in the past for its inexperienced operators, after an accident in 2001 in which one of its operators forgot to extend the cranes outriggers causing the crane to fall onto a building, the company was accused of “hiring dangerously inexperienced workers.”

Several reports claim that Nu-Way owner Michael Sackaris often boasted of knowing “who to pay to get things done”. The investigation continues.