Washington — A New York construction supervisor was sentenced on July 1 to a year in prison and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to obstructing an investigation of a fatal workplace incident.
Richard Zagger, 58, of Northridge Construction Corp. in East Patchogue, NY, in December 2018 was overseeing workers who were assembling a metal shed on company property in Long Island, according to the Department of Justice. During the assembly, a worker fell from an improperly secured shed roof and died.
OSHA’s investigation identified several worker safety standard violations, including failing to maintain the stability of a metal structure during construction. Inspectors said Zagger made false statements and conspired with others to do so during the investigation.
Zagger pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy and one count of obstruction of official proceedings related to the investigation of the incident.
Northridge had previously been fined $100,000 and given five years of probation for violating a worker safety standard causing a death and making false statements.
