Scoppetta Culpable

To the Editor:

Who is John Galt? That was Ayn Rand's critical question in "Atlas Shrugged."

One thing is for sure, the John Galt Company, the demolition subcontractor at the Deutsche Bank building, does not symbolize the company namesake, Ayn Rand's superhero in her classic work. Rand's John Galt would have personally destroyed this company with a loud flourish.

A whistle blowing supervisor now alleges that the firefighters walked into a death-trap created by a slew of safety violations created by employees of the John Galt Corp., which has now been axed from the project.

Whoever is ultimately found responsible for the deaths of firefighters Joe Graffagnino and Robert Beddia - and there may be a number of people at fault - should be criminally prosecuted. Whoever tries to cover it up should also be criminally prosecuted.

If the FDNY itself is responsible for the failure to do the required safety inspections on the building, then Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta should be held accountable for this tragedy.

How many firefighters are we going to lose to 9/11? It's better that all of lower Manhattan be exposed to contaminated air than for one more firefighter (or other emergency worker) to lose his life in a vacant building.

MICHAEL J. GORMAN

Editor's note: The writer is a retired NYPD Lieutenant and an attorney.