Following the recent spate of construction and crane mishaps in New York City, the arrest of the city’s chief crane inspector just doesn’t seem that surprising! James Delayo, the acting “chief inspector for the Cranes and Derricks Unit at the city’s Department of Buildings” oversaw city licensing of crane operators, but is now being accused of taking bribes for passing cranes he never inspected and employees who never passed their examinations. Officials were quick to point out that these accusations had no direct relationship with the recent accidents that have killed a total of nine people, but the arrest of the chief crane inspector sure distracts the public’s attention!

So what kind of brides was the city’s chief crane inspector taking? Kind of small ones actually:

A 26-year veteran of the Buildings Department, Mr. Delayo took bribes of “a couple of hundred dollars” in exchange for issuing licenses to about half a dozen Class C crane operators, including once to a man who did not even take the test, according to the criminal complaint and the official involved in the case.

The authorities also learned that Mr. Delayo signed off on the annual inspection of between 20 and 30 Class C cranes without conducting any examination in exchange for “several hundred dollars” apiece, the official said.

Making $74,224 a year, Mr. Delayo probably didn’t need the few extra hundreds in kickbacks. For his indisgression he’s being charged with bribe-receiving, tampering with public records, receiving an unlawful gratuity, and two felonies: first-degree falsification of business records and first degree offering a false instrument for filing. That’s a whole litany of charges!

[NY Times]

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