Contractors Sentenced to Jail For Worker’s Death

Two New York contractors have both been sentenced to six-month jail terms in connection with the death of a worker who was not wearing a safety harness and fell 60 feet from a scaffold.

A judge in Brooklyn, NY, sentenced brothers Tariq Alamgir and Nasir Bhatti, owners of the now-defunct Metla Construction. Court heard the two men were cited by OSHA as recently as March 2007 for defective scaffolding at another site. Reportedly they have not paid their $34,000 fine.

The brothers told the judge that the victim in the June 2005 scaffold fall, Mohammed Jabbie, was like a brother to them and they felt tremendous remorse for his death.

Assistant US Attorney Sarah Coyne noted that Alamgir and Bhatti had paid for Jabbie’s wedding and bought him a fancy car. She said had they spent the money on fall protection equipment and training instead, Jabbie would probably still be alive.

Alamgir must pay $100,000 restitution to the victim’s family and Bhatti will have to pay a $100,000 fine.