Top Crane Inspector Arrested for Taking Bribes From Owners

Top Crane Inspector Arrested for Taking Bribes From Owners


The Department of Buildings' Assistant Chief Inspector of Cranes and Derricks was arrested June 6 on charges of accepting bribes from operators and crane companies.

Those bribes did not involve either of the two cranes whose failures caused nine fatalities over the past three months.

The 26-year veteran, James Delayo, had been serving as the Assistant Chief since March 2008 and oversaw crane inspections. The Manhattan District Attorney alleged that Mr. Delayo had accepted bribes between $200 and $500 from a Long Island company and other individuals between 2002 and 2007.

Under Intense Scrutiny

The department's crane inspection protocol has been the subject of public criticism since two separate crane collapses in Manhattan claimed the lives of workers and bystanders this year. An Inspector was arrested in connection with a fatal crane collapse in March after the Department of Investigation alleged that he had falsely logged that he had inspected the crane when had not.

"We have zero tolerance for any corruption anywhere in city government, and when corruption appears in a public safety agency like the Department of Buildings, it is all the more deplorable," Mayor Bloomberg said in a statement. "The Department of Buildings has made enormous strides in rooting out corruption over the past six years, but this case underscores that there remains more work to do."