A construction site supervisor indicted last year following the death of a worker in a trench collapse has pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment in Westchester County, New York.
Michael Conway, 60, of Bethel, Connecticut, was initially charged with felony criminally negligent homicide and two counts of misdemeanor reckless endangerment. It marked the first time a contractor faced criminal charges in Westchester County for a construction site death due to improper safety practices, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
On February 7, Conway pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor reckless endangerment for which he will perform 150 hours of community service and will not serve jail time.
The incident occurred around 12:30 p.m. May 4, 2021, in the Village of Mamaroneck, New York. Jose Vega, 46, was working in a 9-foot-deep trench to locate a sewer line when it collapsed, and he was buried.
Subcontractor Mickels Landscape Inc. of Darien, Connecticut, was responsible for locating a sewer pipe, and Vega was in the trench while an operator was in an excavator digging.
Conway, as the site supervisor for general contractor Lecher Development of Norwalk, Connecticut, “directed two workers to dig a trench without proper shoring or cave-in protections in place,” according to a news release from the D.A.’s office in February 2024.
The trench was dug behind a house under construction and had accumulated water in it, according to investigative reports by the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Spoil piles were on the edge of the trench, and there was no safe means for entrance or exit from the trench. OSHA also determined that daily inspections by a competent person had not been performed before workers entered the trench and that workers had not been trained on trench safety.
Conway’s employer, Lecher Development, was cited by OSHA for one willful and four serious violations and was issued final penalties totaling $30,060.
Mickels Landscape Inc. was cited for a repeat violation of not providing safe means of entrance and exit from a trench, as well as five serious violations similar to those issued to Lecher. In all, the company paid final penalties totaling $40,000. Mickels had previously paid a penalty of $1,619 in 2020 for failure to provide a safe way to enter or exit a trench on a construction site in 2019 in Norwalk, Connecticut, according to OSHA.
Conway was the only one charged in the incident.
“Were it not for the complete disregard for federal safety standards, Mr. Vega might still be alive today. Instead, he was buried alive, in part due to Mr. Conway’s recklessness,” said D.A. Susan Cacace in a February 8 statement. “This case, the first of its kind in Westchester County, should send a message to everyone in the construction industry: Safety standards are there for a reason, and we will not hesitate to pursue cases where they are violated.”
