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Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2502', '§ 2502', '§ 4904', '§ 2502', '§ 2502', '§ 2502', '§ 302', '§ 302', '§ 2502', 'art. 11', '§ 2502', '§ 2502', '§ 2502', 'in fine']

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2013PaHighSchoolMockTrial ProblemZillias PDF-notes...
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Problem Questions & Contact Information Introduction and Acknowledgments Case Summary Criminal Complaint and Probable Cause Affidavit Transcript of Proceedings before Issuing Authority Information Arraignment Memorandum and Opinion Stipulations Applicable Law Jury Instructions Verdict Form List of Witnesses Witness Statements Emerson Turnkin Quinn Baxter London Packard Tatum Zillias Micah Estratton Reese Dentner List of Exhibits Exhibit 1: Exhibit 2: Exhibit 3: Exhibit 4: Exhibit 5: Exhibit 6: Exhibit 7: Exhibit 8: Exhibit 9: Exhibit 10: 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 ELS Catalog Page for Fightin’ Phil Artistic Rendering of Franklin’s Trench Construction Site Drawing MOU between HUD, City of Philadelphia and Project Z Term Sheet between ELS and Project Z for Crane Rental Official OSHA report re: crane collapse Weather reports taken from August 31st (3 different times) Article by Reese Dentner – “Trench Warfare” Arty Dent’s Manifesto Letter from City of Philadelphia dated August 22, 2012 i i iii 1 3 4 5 6 9 11 13 18 19
Questions concerning these case materials should be sent to David Keller Trevaskis at the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA). Case material questions will be answered by the Mock Trial Executive Committee. Questions regarding mock trial procedure, including any questions involving the Rules of Competition or Rules of Evidence, should be directed to your District or Regional Mock Trial Coordinators. Please make sure you are using the most updated version of the case: REVISED VERSION NOVEMBER 16, 2012. Answers to legitimate and non-repetitive questions will be posted periodically in a supplemental memo on the mock trial website www.pabar.org under the Young Lawyer’s Division (YLD) link. You may begin submitting questions anytime. The deadline for submitting questions is noon on January 16, 2013. The final update will be posted no later than January 18, 2013. Questions must be sent in writing using one of the methods listed below. Please be sure to include return contact information in the event we need to reach you to clarify a question. No questions will be considered unless submitted under this procedure . E-mail: david.trevaskis@pabar.org Fax: 717.238.7182 (David Trevaskis)
Welcome to the 2013 Pennsylvania Statewide High School Mock Trial Competition - the 29th year of one of the top secondary level academic competitions in the Commonwealth! The competition, which commenced in 1984, is sponsored by the Young Lawyers Division of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA/YLD). It provides high school students with firsthand experience of the American judicial system. The Mock Trial Competition is one of a series of law-related and civic education programs conducted by the PBA to demystify the law for Pennsylvanians, including Freedom's Answer, I Signed the Constitution, Project PEACE, Law Day and Stepping Out for Seniors. This year's case, Commonwealth v. Tatum Zillias, is a criminal action charging a real estate developer with reckless homicide in the deaths of two people at a construction site following the collapse of a construction crane. The case was written by Jonathan A. Grode and Paul W. Kaufman. The pair co-wrote the 2011 and 2012 mock trial problems and co-wrote the national problems in 2010 and 2012. Mr. Grode (Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law – Adjunct Professor) also adapted and modified the 2007 mock trial problem and wrote the 2008, 2009, and 2010 mock trial problems. Mr. Kaufman was a four time Delaware state champion mock trialer in high school is a current member of the National High School Mock Trial Championship Board of Directors. Jane E. Meyer, Esq., a prior Mock Trial Committee Chairperson, performed final editing of this year’s case in collaboration with Mr. Grode and Mr. Kaufman. Our sincerest thanks go out to Mr.
Additionally. for their support of the competition. Mr. who tolerates his ongoing obsession with mock trial drafting. Mr. for her editing and expertise in the field of construction law and practice. a great friend to mock trial at all levels throughout the Commonwealth and the nation. the YLD thanks David Trevaskis. Last. PBA Pro-Bono Coordinator for his continued involvement and experienced guidance in implementing the 2013 Mock Trial Competition. Wisconsin. The authors also thank Professor Edward Fallone of the Marquette University Law School for the inspiration for this case. Kaufman and Ms. who serves as the main point of contact for the entire program. Importantly. We hope you find these materials interesting. The authors also thank Veronica Finkelstein of the United States Attorney’s Office.davidfoxartist. this competition would not be the tremendous success that it is each year. Esq.com. and Stuart Haimowitz of the First Judicial District for their assistance in conceiving and calibrating the case.Grode. for her support. and wish you all the best of luck! ii . Esq. the PBA/YLD Chair Elect. and the many PBA staff members who provide valuable time and talent throughout the mock trial season. and Robert Datorre. Grode also thanks his wife. Traci Naugle. His professional work can be found at www. They are also deeply grateful to Arlene Fisk of the United States Attorney’s Office. for her efforts in organizing and implementing the many facets of this competition. Grode dedicate this year’s case to those who lost their lives at the Miller Park tragedy in 1999 in Milwaukee. Special thanks go to Maria Engles. and unparalleled patience. we thank the PBA staff. Grode thanks Roberta West (LEAP Program Advisor Temple University) for her tireless support of the program. The Mock Trial Committee would also like to express its appreciation to Jacob Gurwitz. Jayne Bird. Meyer for their tireless and enthusiastic creation and editing of this year’s problem.. current PBA/YLD Chair. The authors also want to extend their deepest gratitude to artist David Fox for taking the time out of his busy schedule to bring the vision of Franklin’s Trench to reality. the YLD Coordinator. Hutchinson for their remarkable support of high school mock trial in Philadelphia and throughout Pennsylvania. headed by Executive Director Barry Simpson and Deputy Executive Director Fran O’Rourke.. Mr. Kaufman thanks his wife.. Kaufman and Mr.” Mr. and he thanks United States Attorney Zane David Memeger and Chief of the Civil Division Margaret L. Sarah. Mr. Credit for the criminal law in this case should be given to them. Finally. counsel. John Doyle of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Thanks also goes to the Chair of this year’s Competition. Esq. but any errors or necessary distortions are ours alone. we thank the hundreds of volunteers who annually contribute their time and energy to the overall organization and running of the program. but certainly not least. Without their assistance. notwithstanding the fact that he promises each year that “this one will be the last he works on.
whether s/he manifested an extreme indifference to the value of human life in so doing. an investigative reporter. became desperate. The defense will also call three witnesses. Worse. and worksite accidents were occurring at an alarming pace. there would be no turning back. a federal construction official. 2012. On August 31. The worksite was pure chaos. Zillias broke ground in summer 2011. expert witness and OCIS supervisor. But where some saw a gash in the fabric of the city. Mangled beneath the pile of twisted metal that once was a crane were the bodies of Arty Dent. Philadelphia would have had the most modern public housing complex in the world. Quinn Baxter. what Zillias and many government officials did not want to admit was that Franklin’s Trench was already home to scores of squatters who had been residing in this underground cut-out for almost 40 years. two large stateof-the-art solar and wind turbine roofing panels were scheduled to be lifted onto the top of the structure. At trial. Franklin Trench’s former hero and public face became a villain.” lay in ruins. a squatter who had lived in the trench. facing the impending loss of their home. a space deep and wide enough to accommodate the guts that make a high-rise building run. iii . a 50 foot deep abandoned fissure in the heart of the Art Museum area of the city more than two blocks long. Micah Estratton. if so. “Fightin’ Phil. obsessed with every aspect of the project. state-of-the-art roof for the building. the largest crane on the East Coast. which was needed in order to make Franklin’s Trench financially solvent. and in a moment of confusion. and the Mayor and HUD Secretary were scheduled to conduct a very public walkthrough right before the November election. and in seconds. the workers on a major urban renewal project in Philadelphia called “Franklin’s Trench” were racing to finish the critical part of their project: a new. Zillias was on the site all day. The squatters were concerned that once the panels were in place. and London Packard. as the high wind remnants of Hurricane Isaac swirled through the Delaware Valley. Around 3:30. problems mounted. 2012. tremendous damage would be done to the structure. as the remnants of Isaac barreled through the northeast. Tatum Zillias saw a foundation. Zillias was concerned that if the roof was not in place. Her/His name is Tatum Zillias. Emerson Turnkin. someone made the fateful call to proceed with the lift. the defendant. Now a jury must determine whether Zillias’ efforts to push the construction forward caused these two deaths and. By mid-August. the self-proclaimed leader of the Franklin’s Trench Squatters. Fightin’ Phil’s crane operator and expert witness.Case Summary On August 31. The squatters. 2012. Tatum Zillias. If Zillias had succeeded. The story of what history will know as Fightin’ Phil’s Fall started with a trench. and their acts of sabotage became more serious. the project was a jointventure with the City of Philadelphia and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. the construction site supervisor at Franklin’s Trench. 2012. a gust of wind caught the final panel mid-lift. and Reese Dentner. every day. and Grace Hopper. Workers were running around the clock. pushing the project back beyond salvation. the Commonwealth will present three witnesses. as the project continued. However. However. Zillias was concerned that the numerous delays that had occurred would prevent the project from meeting a bonus deadline for completing the project by October 31. and s/he stands trial for murder. A project that was originally heralded as an innovation in modern urban planning had become one of the City’s most unfortunate tragedies.
9 th Patrol District. which together directly and proximately caused the death of two persons. §§ 2502. to wit. under the totality of the circumstances.S. Arthur Dent. … 18 Pa.PLEADINGS COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : MUNICIPAL COURT OF PHILADELPHIA : PHILADELPHIA COUNTY. . Detective Barbara Potopowicz.A. who resides at 2200 Pennsylvania Ave.: MC-51-CR-71499-2012 : : Charges: TATUM ZILLIAS.A. The accused committed these acts against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and contrary to the Acts of the General Assembly. § 2502) . I ask that a warrant of arrest or a summons be issued and that the accused be required to answer the charges I have made. Philadelphia PA. : Docket No. PENNSYLVANIA : v.C. the accused did manifest a conscious disregard for an unjustified and extremely high risk that her/his actions might cause serious bodily injury. .. in that the accused did order a construction crane to lift a load that it could not handle. The acts committed by the accused were: ** MURDER IN THE THIRD DEGREE COUNTS 1-2 The accused did cause death to another recklessly under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life (18 Pa. despite being aware of facts that should have led the accused not to do so. of the Philadelphia Police Department. CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AND 2. Badge 200103. I accuse: Tatum Zillias. In ordering that the lift be undertaken under those circumstances.C. as manifested by the collapse of the crane and the loss of its load. 3. Grace Hopper. : Murder (3rd Degree) (2 Counts) Defendant : PROBABLE CAUSE AFFIDAVIT I. 1 .S. 4. do hereby state: 1.
on this date.5. I verify that the facts set forth in this Complaint are true and correct to the best of my knowledge. Municipal Court Judge Issuing Authority Clerk of Courts – Original 2 . 2012 I certify the Complaint has been properly completed and verify that there is probable cause for the issuance of process.S. Date: November 2.A. /s/ Edward Fallone Edward Fallone. § 4904. 2012 /s/ Barbara Potopowicz (signature of the complainant) AND NOW. November 5. information and belief subject to penalties of 18 Pa. relating to unsworn falsification to authorities.C.
Philadelphia. § 2502(c). : Murder (3rd Degree) (2 Counts) Defendant : Transcript of Proceedings before Issuing Authority 1. The request for 10% bail posting made by the Defendant was granted.. Philadelphia. : Docket No. 2. on this date. bail was set at $5. 2012 issuing authority has been properly completed.S.COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : MUNICIPAL COURT OF PHILADELPHIA : PHILADELPHIA COUNTY.. the Defendant was advised of her/his right to apply for assignment of counsel and was given a copy of the Criminal Complaint. At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing on November 13. 18 Pa. 5. Pennsylvania. 2012. Defendant Tatum Zillias.000. The Defendant was present and was represented by counsel. PENNSYLVANIA : v.C. 6.000 based on the evidence presented at that time and the Criminal Complaint previously filed with the Court. who resides at 2200 Pennsylvania Ave. At the preliminary arraignment. a preliminary hearing was held before undersigned at 1301 Filbert St.A. 4. Municipal Court Judge Issuing Authority Clerk of Courts – Original 3 . The Commonwealth was represented by the assigned Assistant District Attorney. I certify the transcript of proceedings before /s/ Edward Fallone Edward Fallone.: MC-51-CR-071499-2012 : : Charges: TATUM ZILLIAS. the Defendant was held for court on the charges of Murder in the Third Degree.. 7. Bail was continued in the amount of $5.000. was arrested on November 6. Detective Barbara Potopowicz was sworn and testified for the Commonwealth.000. At the preliminary arraignment. AND NOW. 2012 and charged by Complaint with two counts of Murder in the Third Degree.. November 15. Philadelphia PA. Pennsylvania on November 6. A Preliminary arraignment for Defendant Tatum Zillias was held before the undersigned at 1301 Filbert St. On November 13. 2012. 2012. 3.
and consciously disregarding an unjustified and extremely high risk of death or serious bodily injury. proximately cause the death of Grace Hopper. under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life. under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life. and consciously disregarding an unjustified and extremely high risk of death or serious bodily injury. 2012 .S.: MC-51-CR-71499-2012 : : Charges: TATUM ZILLIAS. . Second Count: did. PENNSYLVANIA : v. 18 Pa.C. : Murder (3rd Degree) (2 Counts) Defendant : INFORMATION The charge(s) having been bound over for court by the Municipal Court Judge following a Preliminary Hearing. in said County. : Docket No. on (or about) Tatum Zillias First Count: did.COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : MUNICIPAL COURT OF PHILADELPHIA : PHILADELPHIA COUNTY. The District Attorney of Philadelphia County by this Information charges that. District Attorney Clerk of Courts – Original 4 . § 2502(c) Arlene Fisk. /s/ Arlene Fisk___________ Citation(s): THIRD DEGREE MURDER. All of which are against the Act of Assembly and the Peace and Dignity of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.A. December 7. proximately cause the death of Arthur Dent.
PENNSYLVANIA : v. § 2502(c)). I hereby enter a plea of charges and request a trial by Not Guilty to the above Jury .S. 2012 Tatum Zillias Defendant /s/ Veronica Finkelstein Attorney for Defendant /s/ Stuart Haimowitz____________ Attorney for the Commonwealth Clerk of Courts – Original 5 . February 2013 Term of Criminal Court Date: December 13. Trial is scheduled for the . I have been advised of my right to have an attorney represent me at all hearings and the trial of these charges.A.: MC-51-CR-71499-2012 : : Charges: TATUM ZILLIAS. : Docket No. I have been advised and fully understand that I/my lawyer have/has the right to request discovery or disclosure from the District Attorney within fourteen (14) days of today’s date.C. : Murder (3rd Degree) (2 Counts) Defendant : Arraignment I. I have been advised and I fully understand that I/my lawyer have/has the right to file with the Court any pre-trial application for relief in the form of a single omnibus pre-trial motion within thirty (30) days of today’s arraignment date. Tatum Zillias. have been advised by the District Attorney of Philadelphia County. Pennsylvania that I am charged by Information with Murder in the Third Degree (18 Pa.COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : MUNICIPAL COURT OF PHILADELPHIA : PHILADELPHIA COUNTY.
2 Defendant Zillias contends that the allegations against her/him are insufficient to show malice.: MC-51-CR-71499-2012 : : Charges: TATUM ZILLIAS. C. 1992). The standard for malice is well-established: “Malice consists of a ‘wickedness of disposition.. and the distinction between “mere” reckless behavior and that which is so reckless as to constitute In addition.2d 988. and thus that he must be released immediately. that an individual should have been aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death or serious bodily injury would result from his or her actions. cruelty. Involuntary Manslaughter can also be proved showing gross negligence. requires proof of an actual intent to kill. The Court denies defendant’s motion. 838 A. The Court offers no comment on the wisdom of this charging decision other than that the Commonwealth is entitled to exactly what it demands: the jury must either find a malicious Murder in the Third Degree or acquit the Defendant entirely. 782 A. Ruby. Notably. The sole question before the Court is whether the allegations against the Defendant could constitute malice sufficient to sustain a conviction of Murder in the Third Degree. 1 6 . Ct 2001). and a mind regardless of social duty. this decision is an attempt to avoid a “compromise” verdict by the jury. § 302(b)(3). or mens rea. : Docket No. C.e. including Involuntary Manslaughter.A. of course. as defined above.A.. although a particular person may not be intended to be injured.2d 574. 838 A. citing 18 Pa.S. § 302(b)(4). i. hardness of heart.COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : MUNICIPAL COURT OF PHILADELPHIA : PHILADELPHIA COUNTY. the District Attorney has not charged the Defendant with the lesser offense of Involuntary Manslaughter. See Ruby. : Murder (3rd Degree) (2 Counts) Defendant : MEMORANDUM AND OPINION Defendant Tatum Zillias moves to dismiss the indictment charging her/him with Murder in the Third Degree. DiStefano.C. Murder in the Third Degree is a felony. recklessness of consequences. 582 -583 (Pa. 1004 (Pa.1 Based on public statements that the District Attorney has made. Neither. 616 A.2d 786 (2003) (Pa. the Defendant here has indicated s/he will not request that the jury be instructed on a lesser offense. and the matter will proceed to trial. 2 By contrast to Murder in the Third Degree.e.A. PENNSYLVANIA : v. Alternatively. that Defendant “consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the death or serious bodily injury would result from his conduct.” Commonwealth v. Super. § 2502(c). charge. 18 Pa. The Court disagrees. quoting Commonwealth v. unlike Involuntary Manslaughter. Ct. i.2d at 788-89. Defendant argues that the indictment and the evidence against her/him in this matter is insufficient to show the required mental state.S.S. Ct. 2003). for this crime. Super. Cottam. which requires proof of malice. the charge of Involuntary Manslaughter requires that the Commonwealth prove only traditional recklessness.” Commonwealth v.’ Malice may be found where the defendant consciously disregarded an unjustified and extremely high risk that his actions might cause serious bodily injury. Super. citing 18 Pa.
There. then drove well above the speed limit down a crowded road. the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found insufficient evidence of malice even though a driver consumed alcohol and barbiturates. Kling ran another person off the road. the defendant was specifically confronted by a passing taxi driver. we have found the defendant not guilty as a matter of law. he did not stop or even slow his headlong descent. the Superior Court has concluded that “unless the driver has essentially a ‘death wish’ or steamrolls through a crowd of pedestrians. made a series of reprehensible choices. or in cases where mere negligence or foolish ignorance is at issue. 2004). there was serious question as to whether his recklessness was sufficient to constitute malice. shows. At the other end are cases like Commonwealth v. 552 Pa. however. Ct. by contrast. weaving in and out of traffic and around blind curves. 1999). Similarly. 521 A. By choosing not to do so. Instead. 719 A. as the debate in Commonwealth v. In such cases. Ct.2d 145. In trying to make sense of these cases.2d 792. both drivers had specific warnings of the dangers posed by their actions. but ignored them. striking a pedestrian. 852 A. This is why Comer’s conviction was overturned. Still.2d 1209 (Pa. 1987). Scofield. Kling. McHale. where an otherwise excellent parent reacts to a tantrum by lightly striking her child’s chest. Super. but Kling’s was upheld: after Kling ran the first car off the road nearly a mile before he struck his victim’s. What is surprising about Kling is not that the defendant was convicted. Comer. followed by a decision to continue anyway. Shortly before weaving across the center line and causing a head-on collision in which a mother was killed and her child severely injured. Kellam. cutting off cars and riding onto the sidewalk before smashing into a bus stop. Accordingly. The Commonwealth has proffered that it will show that (1) Zillias was conscious of the possibility that high winds could cause a catastrophic collapse in the crane or a loss of lift integrity. Comer. but something more. there was at least one judge of the Superior Court who would have reversed Kling’s conviction. But where to locate a particular case on that spectrum is often much less clear. but that under those circumstances. (3) Zillias was warned in advance that wind conditions could make the lift unsafe. Indeed. (2) previous events gave reason for Zillias to be concerned about the danger inherent in lifting in high wind.2d 40 (Pa. The defendant in Kling was convicted of Murder in the Third Degree after racing his car at over 80 miles per hour up and down a two-lane mountain path. only to have the child’s heart suddenly and unpredictably stop forever. the cold-hearted disregard of a known risk of serious injury or death shows the kind of cruelty and disregard of fundamental human duties that merit prosecution for murder. Super. (4) Zillias was warned on the day in question that the wind could make conditions 7 . he had nearly thirty seconds to recognize the danger he was posing to others and to decelerate. Ct. where a caretaker locked an infant in a stifling room for two days without food or water. per se. Super. 797 (1998). he tried to drive away. 149-152 (Pa. who urged him not to drive any further. Looking into the cases. At one end are matters like Ruby.” Commonwealth v. 731 A. citing Commonwealth v. but the actual warning that the conduct was not just risky. in Commonwealth v. he consciously elected to proceed while aware of the risk that his actions posed. 527 (1998). In such cases. it would seem unlikely that the recklessness would rise to the level sufficient to find malice.malice is not an easy one to define. but killed his victim without a similar warning. it becomes clear that the important point is not the degree of recklessness. It is fair to say that they represent a spectrum of potential criminality.
which in turn often requires more than regulatory liability. either. but that the risk was being realized. the case must be permitted to proceed to jury. They must be judged on a case by case basis. 8 . to say that the violations are inadmissible per se. when the evidence can be considered in context. The former is a question for the jury. there is at least some evidence that the circumstances of the day in question put the defendant on notice not just that her/his course of conduct posed a theoretical risk. it is enough to say that the citations neither prove the Commonwealth’s case themselves nor are categorically irrelevant to it. the latter is a question for the people. a reasonable jury could conclude that Defendant Zillias acted in conscious disregard of the risks. That cannot be so. Under the circumstances. Critically. Were the Commonwealth correct. and (5) Zillias personally decided to proceed anyway. The Commonwealth also contends that Zillias repeatedly caused workers to violate safety and construction codes and that this alone constitutes recklessness per se. because (6) Zillias was seeking to make a deadline for personal or profit-based reasons. and the Court will consider whether they are provable. but if it makes such showings. For now. This is not. But the time for those decisions is at trial. That is a bridge too far: criminal liability requires more than civil liability. J. citation by citation.unsafe. relevant. and not unduly prejudicial or confusing in turn. The Court offers no opinion on the merits of the case or the wisdom of the aggressive charge that the Commonwealth has brought. BY THE COURT: _____________________ Fox. The Court does not offer any opinion on whether the Commonwealth can actually prove the case it claims it can make. merely driving with one’s headlight out or failing to signal properly – both undeniably violations of the driving “code” subject to citation – would constitute recklessness per se. of course.
They were provided by Super-AccuSat weather. 9. and either party may refer to Zillias’ decision to testify in opening.com. and they were publicly available on SAS’s webpage..com. PENNSYLVANIA : v. 7.COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : MUNICIPAL COURT OF PHILADELPHIA : PHILADELPHIA COUNTY. or through a fax and email advisory service. Their bodies were found beneath the collapsed structure. 2012. No objection will be entertained to the constitutionality of any evidence. Defendant Tatum Zillias has waived her/his rights under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. 8. including philly. Exhibit 7 contains weather reports for August 31. All evidence was constitutionally recovered. 2012. signatures and exhibits. : Murder (3rd Degree) (2 Counts) Defendant : Stipulations 1.m. venue and chain of custody of the evidence are proper and may not be challenged. including pre-markings.: MC-51-CR-71499-2012 : : Charges: TATUM ZILLIAS. and their deaths were near instantaneous. The deaths of Grace Hopper and Arthur Dent were caused when the the crane commonly known as Fightin’ Phil collapsed on top of them on or about August 31. or from the web pages of SAS Inc.m. 3. and 12:05 p. 2012. : Docket No.weatheradvisory. www. 6. included in the case materials are authentic and accurate in all respects. It is admissible without further foundation. nor will any motions to suppress on constitutional grounds be permitted. 2012. The first two weather reports (12 a. Jurisdiction. All documents. 2. The reports in Exhibit 7 are those that were relied upon by Quinn Baxter in making her/his report.’s clients.m. and all statements were constitutionally obtained. 10.) are true and accurate copies 9 . Grace Hopper and Arthur Dent were living human beings on August 31. at or after 3:25 p. All statements were notarized on the day on which they were signed. a service of SAS Inc. The parties reserve the right to dispute any legal or factual conclusions based on these items and to make objections other than to authenticity. no objections to the authenticity of the documents will be entertained. Exhibit 3 is a fair and accurate depiction of the construction site at Franklin’s Trench as it existed on or about August 31. 4. 5.
on the SAS website and on philly.. The weather reports found in Exhibit 7 are authentic and accurate. Haimowitz____ Assistant District Attorney Date: December 17. 2012. /s/ S. The third report (3:15 p.m. when it was replaced by another report.m.com and was available after that time until 8:57 p. and they may be admitted without further foundation. 11.m. 2012 /s/ Veronica Finkelstein Defendant’s Attorney 10 .of those reports reviewed by site personnel on August 31.) was posted publicly at 3:16 p. The readings in those reports were taken by SAS’s instruments at Philadelphia International Airport.
Murder of the third degree is a felony of the first degree. 420 Pa. the mens rea [mental state] for third degree murder is malice. 719 A. hardness of heart. 11 . (c) Murder of the third degree. cruelty. 782 A. See generally 18 Pa. 797 (1998): Sufficient evidence of malice by individual left to care for baby found following baby’s death of malnutrition.C. Kellam.S. 364 (1993)). and a mind regardless of social duty. Ct 2001): The Pennsylvania Criminal Code defines third degree murder as any killing with malice that is not first or second degree murder. § 2502. Rather. Decisional precedent further establishes that third degree murder requires no specific intent to kill.--A criminal homicide constitutes murder of the second degree when it is committed while defendant was engaged as a principal or an accomplice in the perpetration of a felony. dehydration and hyperthermia. Baskerville. 622 A. Commonwealth v.A. 582 -583 (Pa. Commonwealth v. recklessness of consequences. (b) Murder of the second degree.A.--All other kinds of murder shall be murder of the third degree. (a) Murder of the first degree.Super.APPLICABLE LAW Applicable Statutes 18 Pa. The individual left to care for baby did not give baby food or drink for 24 hours. 452 Pa.2d 786 (2003): Mother did not act recklessly when she lightly struck uncontrollably crying child on chest and the child unexpectedly died from an extremely rare condition caused by the blow.--A criminal homicide constitutes murder of the first degree when it is committed by an intentional killing.. Commonwealth v. Cottam. did not change baby’s diapers.2d 195. 681 A. Super. Applicable Judicial Decisions Commonwealth v.2d 792.. 424 Pa..2d 574. Ruby. DiStefano.Super.2d 361. and left baby in hot. enclosed space. 838 A.C.Super. § 2502(c).[”] [M]alice may be found where the defendant consciously disregarded an unjustified and extremely high risk that his actions might cause serious bodily injury. the definition of which is well settled: Malice consists of a “wickedness of disposition. Seibert.S. Murder. 82. 242. 1004 (1992) Commonwealth v. 311. 199–200 (1996) (citing Commonwealth v.2d 988. although a particular person may not be intended to be injured. 616 A.
360 Pa. striking and seriously injuring pedestrian. 12 . 552 Pa. Commonwealth v. cutting off other cars and running up a curb before careening across multiple lanes of traffic. scraped along another vehicle. killing a pedestrian who was waiting for a bus. did so anyway. O'Hanlon.2d 616. 618 (1995): Driver did not manifest extreme indifference to human life where he was intoxicated and ran a red light. then was warned not to drive by passing cab driver. before driving through a SEPTA bus stand. causing serious injury. and running through a utility pole. 521 A. 539 Pa. and struck a pedestrian. Comer. 527 (1998): Driver’s behavior did not manifest extreme indifference to the value of human life where driver had five drinks and a barbiturate (“downer”) and then drove vehicle at excessive rate of speed.Super. 552. 653 A.2d 40 (1987): Driver manifested extreme indifference to human life where he had consumed alcohol and/or barbiturates.Commonwealth v. ran onto a sidewalk and struck a building. 478. Commonwealth v. Scofield.
Your second duty is to apply the law that I give you to the facts. they would look something like the following: [Please note: A copy of these instructions may not be used as an exhibit during the mock trial competition. That is your job and yours alone. religion.JURY INSTRUCTIONS At the conclusion of a jury trial. Neither sympathy nor prejudice should influence your verdict. Also.] 1. This is a responsibility that each of you has and that you cannot avoid. 13 . You have two duties as a jury. You should also not be influenced by any person's race. and you must apply all of them. guess or conjecture. My role now is to explain to you the legal principles that must guide you in your decisions. In the jury room you will discuss the case among yourselves. Members of the jury. you have seen and heard all the evidence and the arguments of the lawyers. or public opinion to influence you. Perform these duties fairly and impartially. fear. Your verdict should not be based on speculation. You must apply the law that I give to you. sympathy or prejudice not to influence verdict. if the judge in your mock trial case were to provide instructions to the jury. the judge will instruct the jury how to apply the law to the evidence. prejudice. do not assume from anything I may have done or said during the trial that I have any opinion about any of the issues in this case or about what your verdict should be. Your first duty is to decide the facts from the evidence that you have heard and seen in court during this trial. color. Now I will instruct you on the law. You must not substitute or follow your own notion or opinion about what the law is or ought to be. You are the sole judges of the facts in this case. Do not allow sympathy. All of you will have to agree on it or there will be no verdict. You are to apply the law as stated in these instructions to the facts as you find them. Role of Jury. but ultimately each of you will have to make up his or her own mind. and in this way decide the case. You must apply my instructions carefully. or gender 2. It is your own recollection and interpretation of the evidence that controls your decision in this case. Hypothetically. I play no part in finding the facts. It is your duty to determine the facts from the evidence produced here in court. Whatever your verdict. You should not take anything I may have said or done during the trial as indicating what I think of the evidence or what I think about what your verdict should be. national ancestry. whether you agree with it or not. students may use these concepts in fashioning their case and making arguments to the jury. Although the lawyers may have called your attention to certain facts or factual conclusions that they thought were important. it will have to be unanimous. what the lawyers said is not evidence and is not binding on you. Jury sole judge of facts. Each of the instructions is important. however.
In deciding what to believe. in deciding what the facts are you must decide what testimony you believe and what testimony you do not believe. Credibility of witnesses. behavior. just as you would in any important matter where you are trying to decide if a person is truthful. Two or more persons witnessing an event may simply see or hear it differently. Credibility refers to whether a witness is worthy of belief: Was the witness truthful? Was the witness’ testimony accurate? You may believe everything a witness says. you should also consider whether it was about a matter of importance or an insignificant detail. After you make your own judgment about the believability of a witness. In deciding the question of credibility. (7) Whether the witness’ testimony was consistent or inconsistent with other evidence that you believe. You should also consider whether the inconsistency was innocent or intentional. or none of it. As I stated in my preliminary instructions at the beginning of the trial. the explanations the witness gave. and memory. or prejudice. is a common human experience. or because of the inherent improbability of the testimony. like failure to recall. (6) Whether the witness said or wrote anything before trial that was different from the witness’ testimony in court. In weighing the effect of an inconsistency. 14 . Inconsistencies or discrepancies in a witness’ testimony or between the testimony of different witnesses may or may not cause you to disbelieve a witness’ testimony. understanding. remember to use your common sense. Mistaken recollection. and how much weight you think their testimony deserves. What is more important than numbers or quantity is how believable the witnesses were. or for other reasons that are sufficient to you. and manner while testifying. You are the sole judges of the credibility of the witnesses. You may decide whether to believe a witness based on his or her behavior and manner of testifying. (3) The witness’ appearance. (4) Whether the witness has an interest in the outcome of the case or any motive. your good judgment. you can then attach to that witness’ testimony the importance or weight that you think it deserves. (2) The quality of the witness’ knowledge. and accurate in his or her recollection. bias. and all the other evidence in the case. You may decide that the witness is not worthy of belief because of the witness’ bearing and demeanor. (5) Any relation the witness may have with a party in the case and any effect the verdict may have on the witness. you may consider a number of factors: (1) The opportunity and ability of the witness to see or hear or know the things about which the witness testified.3. straightforward. or only part of it. The weight of the evidence to prove a fact does not necessarily depend on the number of witnesses who testified or the quantity of evidence that was presented. and (8) Any other factors that bear on whether the witness should be believed. You are not required to accept testimony even if the testimony was not contradicted and the witness was not impeached. and your experience.
speculation.4. or from the nature of the evidence. If. you are convinced that the government proved each and every element of the offense charged beyond a reasonable doubt. The presumption of innocence means that Tatum Zillias has no burden or obligation to present any evidence at all or to prove that s/he is not guilty. The Defendant is presumed to be innocent. burden of proof. but only on evidence proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. if you have a reasonable doubt about one or more of the elements of the offense charged. Murder – Third Degree. that Grace Hopper is dead. As the information is simply a description of the charge(s) against the defendant. The defendant. The burden or obligation of proof is on the government to prove that Tatum Zillias is guilty and this burden stays with the government throughout the trial. Tatum Zillias. logic. Tatum Zillias pleaded not guilty to the offense charged. or experience. § 2502(c)) Third-degree murder is any killing with malice that is not first. The defendant. It may arise from the evidence. The presumption of innocence stays with Tatum Zillias unless and until the government has presented evidence that overcomes that presumption by convincing you that Tatum Zillias is guilty of the offense charged beyond a reasonable doubt. 15 .A. Possible doubts or doubts based on conjecture.C. common sense. That means that the government must prove each and every element of the offense charged beyond a reasonable doubt. the government must convince you that Tatum Zillias is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In order for you to find Tatum Zillias guilty of the offense charged. with no evidence against her/him. and is a doubt of the sort that would cause him or her to hesitate to act in matters of importance in his or her own life. 5. and you should not give any weight to the fact that Tatum Zillias has been indicted in making your decision. then you must return a verdict of not guilty of that offense. A reasonable doubt is a fair doubt based on reason. Tatum Zillias. To find the defendant guilty of this offense with respect to Grace Hopper. However. you must find that the following three elements have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt: First. Nature of the Information As you know the Defendant. Presumption of innocence. A defendant may not be convicted based on suspicion or conjecture. The presumption of innocence requires that you find Tatum Zillias not guilty.S. specifically Murder in the Third Degree. It is a doubt that an ordinary reasonable person has after carefully weighing all of the evidence. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt does not mean proof beyond all possible doubt or to a mathematical certainty. having now heard all the evidence. 6. has been charged with third-degree murder. you should return a verdict of guilty for that offense. S/he started the trial with a clean slate. reasonable doubt.or second-degree murder. An information is not evidence of anything. (Based upon 18 Pa. The information is just the formal way of specifying the exact crime the defendant is accused of committing. is charged in the information with violation of state law. unless you are satisfied that the government has proved guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. or from the lack of evidence. It is an accusation only. or hunch are not reasonable doubts.
then it will be my responsibility to decide what the appropriate punishment should be. Jury must not consider penalty. Duty to consult. To find Tatum Zillias not guilty. are identical.Second. you should consider all the evidence regarding her/his words. or ill-will. You should not take anything I may have said or done during trial as indicating what I think of the evidence or what I think your verdict should be. whether it is guilty or not guilty. and the attending circumstances. This person will speak for the jury here in court. by his or her disregard of that risk. You should never consider the possible punishment in reaching your verdict. that the defendant killed her. the Commonwealth need not prove that the perpetrator specifically intended to kill another. the perpetrator demonstrated his or her extreme indifference to the value of human life. However. and your possible verdicts. Fourth. The elements for Count Two. Malice is a shorthand way of referring to particular mental states that the law regards as being bad enough to make a killing murder. that is. Unanimous Verdict. It does not mean simply hatred. every one of you must agree that the government has overcome the presumption of innocence with evidence that proves each element of that offense beyond a reasonable doubt. For murder of the third degree. To find Tatum Zillias guilty of an offense. spite. Third. Role of Jury – Deliberations. and Third. the alleged Third Degree Murder of Arthur Dent. if you decide that the government has proved Tatum Zillias guilty. Second. a killing is with malice if the perpetrator's actions show his or her wanton and willful disregard of an unjustified and extremely high risk that his or her conduct would result in death or serious bodily injury to another. however. that the perpetrator took action while consciously. your verdict must be based only on the evidence received in this case and the law I have given to you. Now let me explain some things about your deliberations in the jury room. He or she will also preside over your discussions. What the verdict should be is the exclusive responsibility of the jury. 16 . the views and vote of the foreperson are entitled to no greater weight than those of any other juror. 7. 8. and that. conduct. the first thing that you should do in the jury room is choose someone to be your foreperson. disregarding the most serious risk he or she was creating. The word "malice" as I am using it has a special legal meaning. must be unanimous. and the offenses charged. In this form of malice. The Commonwealth must prove. First. knowingly. When deciding whether the defendant acted with malice. as I have said before. I want to remind you that your verdict. that the defendant did so with malice. That concludes my instructions explaining the law regarding the testimony and other evidence. You must not concern yourself with the consequences of your verdict. every one of you must agree that the government has failed to convince you beyond a reasonable doubt.
and I will respond as soon as I can. your foreperson should write them down on a piece of paper. now that all the evidence is in.Fifth. sign them. In the meantime. and then give them to the court official who will give them to me. Do not ever write down or tell anyone how you or anyone else voted. If you have any questions or messages. Talk with each other. I will first talk to the lawyers about what you have asked. do not disclose the number of jurors who have voted to convict or acquit on any offense. and no record will be made of what you say. and once I have finished these instructions. and then decide for yourself if the government has proved the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Sixth. You should all feel free to speak your minds. it is your duty to talk with each other about the evidence. But do not ever change your mind just because other jurors see things differently. continue with your deliberations on some other subject. if possible. or to me. and keep an open mind as you listen to what your fellow jurors have to say. If you have occasion to communicate with the court while you are deliberating. you are free to talk about the case in the jury room. It is important for you to reach unanimous agreement. 17 . or to anyone else except each other. once you start deliberating. That should stay secret until you have finished your deliberations. or just to get the case over with. but only if you can do so honestly and in good conscience. the arguments are completed. and to make every reasonable effort you can to reach unanimous agreement. Listen carefully to what the other jurors have to say. your vote must be exactly that-your own vote. One more thing about messages. listen carefully and respectfully to each other's views. No one will be allowed to hear your discussions in the jury room. In fact. do not talk about the case to the court officials. Do not hesitate to change your mind if you are convinced that other jurors are right and that your original position was wrong. In the end.
: Docket No. At the conclusion of your deliberations.] To the jury: To further clarify instructions given to you by the trial judge. Remember that you must find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt as to each charge. Jury Foreperson 18 . Please sign at the bottom of this form. caused the death of Grace Hopper? Yes ________ No _________ Question 2: Do you find that the Commonwealth has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant Tatum Zillias consciously disregarded an unjustified and extremely high risk that his actions might cause serious bodily injury and. independently. one copy of this form should be signed by your foreperson and handed to the court clerk. you are being provided with the following verdict form. This will constitute your verdict.: MC-51-CR-71499-2012 : : Charges: TATUM ZILLIAS. in so doing. Please return to the courtroom. Question 1: Do you find that the Commonwealth has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant Tatum Zillias consciously disregarded an unjustified and extremely high risk that his actions might cause serious bodily injury and. The jury is instructed to reach a verdict consistent with the answers it finds to the form.COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : MUNICIPAL COURT OF PHILADELPHIA : PHILADELPHIA COUNTY. in so doing. caused the death of Arthur Dent? Yes ________ No _________ You have finished your deliberations. PENNSYLVANIA : v. the judge provides a form like this to the jury at the end of the trial. : Murder (3rd Degree) (2 Counts) Defendant : VERDICT FORM [At many trials. A copy of this form may not be used as an exhibit during the mock trial competition.
For the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:    Emerson Turnkin: Quinn Baxter: London Packard: Former Site Supervisor Franklin’s Trench Former OCIS Investigator – Expert Witness Former Resident of Franklin’s Trench For the Defendant. Tatum Zillias:    Tatum Zillias: Micah Estratton: Reese Dentner: Defendant and Project Z Owner Form Crane Supervisor – Expert Witness Freelance Newspaper Writer 19 . Tatum Zillias is permitted to sit at counsel table as the Defendant.List of Witnesses The prosecution and the defendant must call each of their respective witnesses.
giving a high five every morning. unlocked equipment and heavy machinery that should’ve been serviced months. single. It all started out well. which was a concern. No matter how hard s/he tries or what lies s/he tells. S/he treated that crane like a person. Cutting corners was less expensive than playing by the rules. I often heard Tatum saying “Fast means good. but even at the end. Pretty pathetic. I could see my dream becoming a reality. too – like unsecured scaffolding. I was nothing more than window dressing at a worksite that had one and only one supervisor: Tatum Zillias. much less worked with one! Phil was a thing of beauty! Micah. fast means profit. very minor violation and one I promised to correct quickly. Nobody should be surprised that that crane fell in those winds. It was the safest site in the city: I would spend at least two hours a day on safety protocol and sweeps. My family wasn’t poor. I wish I had quit and never bothered to show up. was a bit of a strange one. and I put myself through college working in retail. When Fightin’ Phil was erected in September 2011. I’d never seen a crane that big.” That was the culture. but I had a pristine record for union relations and for eventual success. each one carefully laid on the next. I wish I had had the power to do something. I was the Site Supervisor at Franklin’s Trench on August 31st. the blood that forever stains that site will never be rubbed away. I have a degree from Penn State in construction management and thirty years on job sites. talking to it. When we worked together on the Trench. but Zillias said s/he liked that better. I wanted to be a property developer. Everything was moving in the right direction. No matter how much money Tatum throws at this. if not years before. from budgets to safety. But. We barely had a stubbed toe on our site. It wasn’t supposed to be like this for me. So how did it happen? How did we wind up lifting so much into the teeth of a gale? I wish I could have stopped it. I’m talking about dangerous stuff. I was stunned when Zillias approached me in 2011 about working on the Trench project. no kids. I had never supervised a large-scale site before. Her/his reputation was clear – speed meant profit. but we struggled. it was Inspector Baxter who came to the site. then a 20 . But I guess if there are horse whisperers. unemployed. really. People used to joke that s/he was going for the Guinness record for most citations without actually getting shut down. Those people were knowingly sacrificed to Tatum Zillias’ raging ego and insatiable pocketbook. I was going to adhere to every code and refuse to cut corners. I guess s/he knew that I had good connections. and extra speed was worth paying a few citations or greasing a few palms along the way. too. that spot will never come out. I confronted Zilias about the “fast means good” policy. I wish I had called out sick. but really that is a very. the crane operator. I didn’t always get things done the fastest. her/his only comment was that the road was graded a bit too steeply for code. That was a lie. but s/he told me that was all in the past and promised me complete job site control. We sure weren’t. because we had the same approach. I found out that reality is often different than theory. but no one will ever give me those jobs again. stuff like that. especially after my father died on the job site. I built a reputation the way I built a house – brick by brick. Now I’m 53. I was supposed to be something so much more. In fact. It was basically the opposite of the way Zillias did things. but I was helpless. and I knew that s/he could use some good press after the fallout from that HUD investigation of Zillias Construction. I could tell s/he was impressed with the work I’d done. or Em for short. Anyone who calls that disaster an accident is a fool or has been fooled. which in theory meant that I was responsible for all aspects of the project. my name was still at the bottom of all the paperwork. I became the Site Supervisor. I made up my mind that I was going to do everything right on this project. 2012. just single-family homes. When it came time for our initial licensing in early August 2011.Statement of Emerson Turnkin 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 My name is Emerson Turnkin.
it was those darn mole people!” I don’t think Tatum even knew what I was talking about. but this was beyond negligent. I decided to humor them and meet with their self-proclaimed leader. the shape of the design was unique and they had these wind turbines built into them. They pretended to like it. We can pay for that! We can pay for anything but time! This project is going to get done!” I lost my cool once again and said. time or temperature.46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 crane whisperer is also possible. although mostly people liked the overtime. it was reckless. Unfortunately. about the unsafe conditions. jobs were hard to come by. For all the experience Micah had with Fightin’ Phil. and every delay was a strike against me and made my job harder. The only problem is that they started vandalizing the site. These were no ordinary roofing panels. telling myself that the squatters were harmless. The union didn’t care if people got some extra cash. Instead of defusing the situation. but the word around the site was that s/he was just a rich person rubbing it in the face of the working guy. 2012. Tatum started a second shift. Even worse. I tried to brush it off. There was no way a responsible government official would’ve turned a blind eye to all of this stuff. it was 200 tons over the max load limit for the crane. and Tatum always paid. I am positive that Tatum must have been paying Grace off. Soon. All I know is that Micah was the best crane operator I have ever met. London Packard. But it slowed us down. S/He just kind of looked at me like I was crazy and stormed out of my office. without even asking me! So now I was running a sixteen hour site. like graffiti. London’s demands were absolutely ridiculous! S/he wanted us to stop construction and move the entire project two blocks east. The pinnacle of the rant was a when Tatum stared right at me and said. I knew this was a mistake. Construction sites are inherently dangerous. alone! Accidents increased tenfold. since there were no major violations. S/he watched us like a hawk after that. so I just told her/him to sort it out with Tatum. which made it very. The one big problem that everyone had overlooked was a group of squatters living in Franklin’s Trench who refused to relocate. one day in October. Mostly it was little stuff. “I don’t care if people get hurt. Tatum came by the site and after a few minutes of pleasantries about the New Year and how “pretty” the site looked. but Tatum didn’t care and really. Grace Hopper. s/he knew how to get the most out of Fightin’ Phil. 21 . I blew up at London and accidently started a bit of a feud. I knew Tatum was aggressive. This was the last thing I wanted. and we hard hats know the risks. Tatum began a tirade that went on uninterrupted for at least an hour. Reese Dentner.to do safety checks. S/he even had this freelance investigative reporter with her/him. Regardless of weather. the workers were “offered” an extra hour in each day. but had told Micah to proceed as planned. I really didn’t care at all at that point. S/he even buttered up the workers with hundred dollar bills. she said that all she could do was write up citations. Micah came back to me and said that s/he had spoken to Tatum and that Tatum was aware of the risk. On January 10. Those who didn’t want it didn’t last long. “It wasn’t my fault. so the weight wasn’t evenly distributed. everything changed. They felt that they had a right to be on the land and that we were invading their property. I couldn’t control my temper. Micah was convinced that Fightin’ Phil could handle it. Not only were they heavier than expected. it was stupid to take such a risk. A week or so later. when the final weight totals on the state-of-the-art roofing panels came in. and when I complained the OCIS inspector. or moving some markers or digging holes on the heavy machinery track. neither did the unions. but I didn’t pay Reese much mind. at least at first. because we had to keep red flagging – stopping work . Plus. or some sort of other favor was going on. In April. very hard to stay on task. I’d already lost control of the situation. My safety checks were cut and then cut again at Zillias’ direction.
I couldn’t leave my workers behind. The build was getting done. S/he muttered something like “I don’t think we have to concern ourselves with a bit of graffiti. Go make yourself look busy. but the haphazard approach was dangerous. though: the Big Lifts at the end of August. Tatum was determined to get the overweight roofing panels in place before this happened. I was worried that they were plotting something. Hurricane Issac hit the Gulf Coast. I checked out the crane and everything seemed ok. but did relay the information to Tatum. and every day I would get yelled at for the project being behind schedule. everyone knew who was running the show. Reese’s article on the Trench hit front page of the paper. I knew all safety precautions were going to be thrown out. I wasn’t going to be Tatum’s scapegoat! By April. The breakneck pace was taking its toll on the workers. I even think Tatum had some political aspirations of her/his own at this point. but in the end. S/he just raced off to trumpet her/his “Springsteen tickets for everyone” plan. we die. and I was painted as some sort of monster. mindlessly signing paperwork and sorting through the junk mail while I waited for this nightmare to end. I thought I saw a squatter poking around Fightin’ Phil. squatters were still milling around. Tatum was there daily. Baxter doesn’t kid around. I didn’t bother mentioning it to Micah. Nothing you say can change that now. Predictably. I even thought I heard Fightin’ Phil creaking a bit. and s/he had the authority to shut us down! Tatum ordered me to deal with her/him.” After that. Rose Rivett. and Tatum knew it. if s/he had the goods. and Tatum wanted to make the sure the project was done for all of the politicians. However. London and her/his gang’s efforts were annoying. I tried to have a rational discussion with Tatum the night before. no one 22 . though. I had no choice but to take it. but I couldn’t tell what it was.93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 Over the next few months the site was beyond tense. Micah tried to make me feel better. In June 2012. Instead. I managed to scare them off. The other crane operator. I was terrified. months of effort would be lost. honestly. Even my foremen would go straight to Tatum half the time. Mostly. Shortly before they were scheduled. so I took it upon myself to do a check. and Tatum paid them all. my heart just wasn’t in the work. but harmless. I raced to the site anyway. we almost had a disaster. s/he said. I saw London and another mole person mucking about around the mooring area of Fightin’ Phil. things got really intense. but for the fact that if the torrential rains came before the roofing panel was in place. my dear Em. I stopped caring. I did what I knew Tatum would have wanted: I told Baxter s/he could close the site. either way. Tatum decided that s/he needed to be onsite 24hrs a day. who seemed as disinterested as ever. do you?” I guess s/he had a point. but it did raise a serious concern. and my reputation was tied to the site. One day in May. S/he raised a bunch of good points. When Inspector Baxter showed up to see how the site was going. First. I still had one fear. a third shift was added. But Tatum was having none of it. and tools were being left everywhere. when we saw how bad the weather was going to be. “Remember. Even though we had put up a fence. On the morning of August 31st. but I knew in my bones that disaster was looming. I just sat in my office at the end of the site. S/he was totally out of control. and I even missed a day or two of work. when I got down there. because of my reputation I guess. was so tired that she started taking speed and almost swung Phil into an apartment building! During our morning meeting one day in early August. we were given a bunch of citations. and the lift was going to proceed at all costs. as always. From the manager’s office. not because of the danger it posed for the workers. I bit the bullet and confronted Tatum about the huge risk we were taking. and overtime became mandatory. I knew that s/he had a choice to either cite us or fight us in court. if we don’t finish fast. There was a bonus deadline looming in October. It was all hands on deck.
the best crane in the mid-Atlantic was a pile of twisted steel. the minimum Code requires. It’s just implausible. I also brought Tatum an even worse weather report from the night before that showed winds coming earlier. but s/he shot me a glance that shut me up and shut me down. I told them both that I was very worried and about the conditions and recommended postponing the second lift until the following day. That was ridiculous. So instead I told Tatum what s/he already knew . but once again. I took a look at the mooring and the machinery and everything looked to be in order. but I knew that I’d be fired if I lifted a finger on the spot if I tried to stop the lift. However. and that she knew Quinn valued my opinion. A half hour later. or some phantom effort by London and the squatters or even God. because we all knew the winds would ground us for at least three days. Tatum. S/he just asked me.140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 was there. Now. Grace and I were in the manager’s office. It was like watching a sail billow and capsize a boat. Tatum thought her/his legacy was more important than human life. and I saw the roofing panel catch the gale. But rather than listen to me. but the wind was getting stronger and stronger. I was convicted in the court of public opinion for my treatment of the squatters. After a quick sweep. at that distance. I am pretty sure that I saw Tatum grab the flag from Grace and start waving it in Micah’s direction. It looked to me like Tatum was winning. but with all the rain and wind. 2012 DATE 23 . For all of her/his bravado. but Tatum needs to be convicted in a court of law. and that the ground upon which Fightin’ Phil stood was getting soft. In seconds. That’s a joke.that the load was pushed beyond the limits of the crane. Micah lost control in the gusts when lifting the first panel and almost plowed it into an apartment building! I had never seen her/him make a mistake like that! I started to talk to Tatum. I couldn’t really see what was happening. There’s no way that a squatter with a fire axe could bring down an elegantly engineered construction crane. I reported this to Tatum when s/he arrived. and disaster almost came right away. and Grace was concerned. Grace said that she couldn’t stop the lift without Quinn Baxter’s approval. The rest is horrible history. that the roofing panel’s shape made it hard to predict how it would react in the high winds. of course. but s/he was in love with Fightin’ Phil and was convinced that the crane could handle any task. At the top of the lift. So I just kind of nodded and said nothing. When it came time for second lift. Emerson Turnkin Signature December 6. But I knew voicing that would guarantee I would get nowhere. the rain was quieting down a bit. we got started. Tatum might try to blame this all on me. I was ignored. The load was pitching and yawing over the site. without even warming up the crane. and I saw them fighting over the green flag. Micah was great at what s/he did. Tatum convinced Grace to ask Micah for her thoughts. for all of her/his cavalier attitude. Grace stormed out to watch the lift from below. but I was no expert. the wind gusted stronger than it had all day. “So why aren’t we lifting now?” as though we should start before dawn. Tatum bolted from the booth to confront Grace. the lift was stopped when another damn squatter appeared. this risk taken and utter disregard for safety had finally caught up with Tatum.
During the period 1998-2012. When I first joined OCIS. and I didn’t work another one in my last five years with the Commonwealth. mostly with BOIS. Although I haven’t been asked to testify in court for over five years. S/he probably saved more money than s/he paid. but I’m near the top of the agency. helping to raise my children. but Zillias called my bluff… and my supervisor! I wound up writing over a dozen citations. I got a detail as the Acting Director of the Office of Engineering Services in Washington.” I wound up getting assigned to other projects.Statement of Quinn Baxter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 My name is Quinn Baxter. Corner office here I come! In 2011-12. I know that code book inside and out. but s/he 24 .C. my supervisors didn’t really support me. Other than that and a brief period I was unemployed after college. It’s the same pay. and certainly the most high profile. the worst construction accident in this city in decades. For approximately eighteen months in 1989-1991 and from 1994-95. I have done that nearly a dozen times. for the ribbon cutting. I didn’t try to get reassigned to a Zillias site. but her/his rags-to-riches story just appealed to people. I devote a majority of my time to site inspections. I first met Tatum Zillias when I was working as an inspector with BOIS and Zillias was just starting out. Most times I was accepted as an expert. with keys in it. OCIS supports me more. I’d been following the Franklin’s Trench job from afar. and Zillias was doing residential work. but I had never seen anything like this one! Equipment was left unlocked. where I attempt to determine if a construction project violates any regulations or otherwise endangers worker safety. I stayed at home. I graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a degree in civil engineering in 1985. and I was the OCIS inspector responsible for the investigation of the Fightin’ Phil crane collapse. I have been working on the safety side of the construction industry my whole adult life. and I’d even had the opportunity to visit the site a few times. after my work on Fightin’ Phil. I have been a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers for eighteen years. I worked for seven years at the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Bureau of Occupational and Industrial Safety (BOIS). No wonder s/he was smirking. As the senior investigator in the Philadelphia Regional Office. I tried to keep an eye on Zillias wherever I could. and I have a Master’s Degree from the University of Pittsburgh in Industrial Engineering. and a lot of the violations I found are pretty common. and I served as its Vice President in 2002. my focus was on massive projects. and I was definitely the best in my office at finding them. Prior to joining OCIS. though. I received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Safety Council. For some reason. After that. and because of my personal knowledge of Tatum Zillias’ lax view of regulations. in my official capacity. I assigned this investigation to myself. And when Zillias filed a formal complaint with the governor’s office about my “harassment. I have testified in a half dozen or so administrative hearings in the past few years. but I later found out that s/he had only been forced to pay half of them. D. I received that degree in 1996. The first time was ceremonial. In fact. I have been called to testify in court approximately ten times. I can’t say that I cared for seeing Zillias with all those dignitaries. and one of the scaffolds was held together with duct tape! I threatened to shut the whole site down. although twice I was not. I served as an inspector with the Philadelphia Regional Office of the Directorate of Construction at the United States Office of Construction Inspection and Safety (OCIS). I also inspect sites following serious injuries to help determine cause. I have also consulted on safety issues for the Association of Crane and Rigging Professionals. This is before s/he founded Project Z. For the past eight years. I always find code problems when I do a site visit. Last year.
Her/his safety record was tremendous. and I laid into Turnkin. I had been warned by Grace Hopper. but it was one of the better sites I’ve seen. So the field inspectors go. S/he even sent me a note. Zillias must have hidden it from Grace. s/he kind of gave me this hug and told the Mayor that I was the best person working in construction safety. I checked our files. Grace was on-scene. I was stunned. to inspect the opening. S/he listened carefully and then told me to sue her/him. I raced out into a hallway filled with people grabbing hard hats and bullhorns. The nerve! After that. In fact. scaffolds were resting on uneven ground. the first panel lifted without incident. and the most drastic use of OCIS’s power. But that wasn’t the person I saw that day: Turnkin was wild. there was a text from 3:23 that simply said “URGENT: CALL ME. I was impressed. August 31 is not a day I will ever forget. Later on. and nothing was submitted. I turned my attention to other matters. I knew immediately that something must have gone horribly wrong. until I saw Tatum Zillias watching.45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 didn’t say a cross word to me. for a few minutes or even an hour. it must have been her/his doing. So I filed my citations. and she called me throughout the day. but she wasn’t sure she’d seen enough to shut the site down. I arrived with two junior people from my office at about 3:50 p. and tools were literally everywhere. But with construction sites throughout the region. I don’t know what to make of that.m. I also found plenty of issues to write up: workers were eating lunch while manning the machinery. and I was impressed. and it’s not one that any field inspector can make. I’d worked with Turnkin before. and they had a few loose tools in dangerous places. at 3:30. is a serious intrusion into the developer’s autonomy. I did a spot inspection in June. even for a red flag violation. We could see the dust cloud from blocks away. all hell broke loose. and I trusted her completely. I wrote it all out. the road was graded 2% too steeply. Then. but a developer is required to report incidents like that to OCIS. problems that manifest an imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury. we can’t be at every one. especially since I showed up hours early to catch them off-guard. to conduct a sweep of the site or to remediate some specific problem. and Tatum Zillias paid every one of them the next day. I later found out that Grace had tried to reach me around 3:20. as well as a political nightmare. When I checked my cell phone. because it was such a big event. but no one put the call through to the conference room. she had not mentioned them. Besides. Finally. I didn’t know about the incident or the dangers it suggested.” She must have wanted the site shut down. I was in a meeting when I got paged over the loudspeaker. and s/he was engaged in some kind of running debate with a street person. I did my best. But to shut down a worksite for longer than that. and she thought some disaster was coming. And if Grace had seen any on her weekly inspections. and Emerson Turnkin had clearly lost control. That’s just the kind of thing that lets us know that workers are being pushed beyond the limits of safety. electrical lines were not properly secured. and they call if they see something that drastically problematic. I trusted that if something went seriously wrong. shouting at the workers. but I couldn’t find any “red flags. OCIS can even be sued for it! So that decision requires approval from a supervisor like me. and boy was she right! The job site was chaos. and s/he really cared about the code. 2012. I went back to the site officially.” that is. Grace would notify me. They can use the red flag to stop work temporarily. I later learned of an incident in July where a crane operator almost caused serious damage because she was taking amphetamines. I took over the investigation immediately. That is a very big call. She was terrified of the winds and the rain. which never happens. One bad apple spoils the bunch. the site inspector assigned to the site. like a worker in danger or to look for possible sabotage. thanking me for my diligence. I had trained Grace myself. that it had gotten worse. As a result. The wind was driving it across 25 .
would have been a red flag. there was no wondering left to do. even as the rain got worse. but that could easily have occurred in the crash itself. We returned that Tuesday. they buckled Fightin’ Phil and killed two people. and the forces acting on the crane would’ve been more than enough to cause it to buckle without any help. I have read Micah Estratton’s statement. there’s no reason to think that a simple hydraulic failure would’ve led to the kind of catastrophic failure that we see here. and I was shocked to see it. too! When I found out that the site supervisor had used improper pilings to secure the crane. construction map. maybe even likely. Fightin’ Phil was nearly twenty years old. and I interviewed the witnesses. yellow and orange make red. and the crane was continuously operated throughout the project. Anyone who read a weather report could see that winds were going to be gusting. Zillias was an experienced developer. the angrier I get… on a strictly professional level. Plus. and the weather reports. and I adopt it completely. Phil was already above engineering tolerance with just the dead lift itself. and once the bodies were removed. including the engineering specs. I had trained her to stick close on a lift like this one. except Micah Estratton. but it is possible. if they had done a full sweep when they saw the squatter. my duty was clear. I started my work. We did find damage to the hydraulics. we realized that no one had seen Grace since the collapse. Fightin’ Phil was a tangled web of steel and cable. There’s no decision that Zillias made that. in the dusk and the rain. It took over an hour for the collapse to completely finish and the dust to settle so that we could safely move around. There’s no reason to think that an unsophisticated member of the public could have caused meaningful damage to Fightin’ Phil. OCIS denied my request for funds to have a forensic metallurgist examine the wreckage. Although you don’t test metal fatigue by doing daily site inspections. Fightin’ Phil’s manufacturer provided specs that rated its capacity to haul flat surfaces in wind. and I knew immediately that we would find her under the crane. I took charge and had my team cordon it off as an active worker safety investigation. Project Z has no daily morning inspection checklists for the six weeks preceding the collapse. Nonetheless. Zillias piled up yellow and orange flags left and right. s/he had to have known (and ignored) these risks. A copy of my final report is attached. Moreover. who was at the emergency room. and the police began moving the workers off the site. and I just can’t agree with the theory that sabotage caused the crash. As we got closer. That kind of force is very unusual. who tried to stop them. in isolation. the rains and winds made the site too dangerous. It was obvious that the crane had collapsed to the operator’s left side. which destroyed virtually every moving part on the crane. I began my formal site review. it. it was curved. plans. combined with a peak wind gust. By 6:45. And even if you thought that a person could do that. Collectively.92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 town at shocking speed. of course. But the roof wasn’t flat. I checked with the senior police officer. and she told me that the area was not a crime scene. including my protégé and good friend. but in my mind. the legs folding over on themselves. as they should 26 . and on all the documents I collected from the site. At 5:20. I based it on my observations. and a properly anchored curved surface is basically a sail. to better see and hear trouble coming. but I can’t see why she didn’t call me earlier. and my team went home. And they knew. I examined the wreckage as best I could. Grace was a great inspector. continuous operation of the kind that Project Z demanded would have put additional stress on the crane and the workers. and the nightly inspections don’t positively demonstrate that the workers were diligent in their efforts to find issues with the crane. The more I think about it. that the buckling was due in part to this fatigue. interviews. we could hear the ambulance and police sirens. Nor can we rule out the possible role of metal fatigue. you can see warning signs. Plus. By 4:15.
Estratton’s theory would let Tatum Zillias walk away. 2012 DATE 27 . The DA in this case is an American hero for indicting Tatum Zillias. Quinn Baxter Signature December 7. I can’t accept that outcome: these needless deaths were caused by Zillias and by a culture that doesn’t take code violations seriously enough.139 140 141 142 have. but it is my view. That’s not OCIS policy. they would have discovered that supposed damage.
though some have changed. it was possible to imagine that society was awakening. I stayed pure. too awakened. I. that there could be a time with no possessions. when Zillias decided to turn our haven for the downtrodden and outcast into a shard of bitter steel. can never be returned. my brothers and sisters. you cannot now recognize the utopia in which I and the 50 or so other Trenchers once lived. I was strolling through the City of Brotherly Love when I stumbled across Franklin’s Trench. from all of us. The Trenchers took the news hard. sunshine-filled day in 1975. nothing to kill or die for. and she freely gave of what little she had. There are many ways to measure wealth. and no religion. I laid down my poncho and thanked the spirits for their gift. It was heaven. our policy of welcome applied to him as well. In an abandoned side tunnel. Water is life. In the 27 solar years that we had our home. too. And with the people and the land itself. I called a community meeting and told everyone what was happening. working with my hands while I wrote my poetry and played my songs of love and loss. We all just 28 .Statement of London Packard 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 There are places I remember all my life. Friends snuffed out. but I would always refuse an interview. I watched Zillias watch us the first day s/he was there. Some forever. You cannot understand it now. Even Tatum Zillias’ mother lived with us for a month or two. We are scattered now. It had good cover. their lives lost to bad acid or their souls lost to The Man. like the Nile or the Euphrates. I was born into a bleak and uncaring. I starved with my sisters and brothers in the jails of the South. From time to time a reporter would catch wind of what was going on in the Trench and want to do some cutesy human interest piece. We were one. and I knew I had found a blessed place. over 1500 souls sojourned with us. It didn’t matter who you were. We never imagined that that bright eyed kid with her would grow to be a monster. S/He looked through us. though through all of the disfigured metal. the City herself would whisper in your ear. and I shared with them their food and drink and drugs. not for better. where I could welcome all to a new kind of civilization. Arty was one of the strangest residents of the Trench. When I found out that the city sold the land to Zillias for a dollar. living wherever the ground was soft and the company sweet. I don’t need no diamond ring to keep me satisfied. I never advertised Franklin’s Trench. That’s Franklin’s Trench. It was like a vulture. and if you were hurting. But then the color faded. a harbinger of doom staring down into the trench. I don’t care too much for money… One bright. and the lives that were taken from us. muttering at the shadows around him. This was our home. But that all changed in the summer of 2011. though. and it was sold right out from under us! One of the saddest days of my life was when they moved in that crane. or whether you could pay. He lay awake in the darkness many a night. some have gone and some remain the same. She was a kind woman. so he rarely took it. but he thought that was a plot against him. like so many autumn leaves. and it was only in my young adulthood that color flowed into it. We collected things together. man. but in the late 1960s. and I rode the buses with them through the fields of hatred. Anonymity was the best defense of our Shangri-La. Pretty much everyone thought so. Most felt that they would have to move on and find another place to call home. I was outraged. Still. moving from place to place. It was once my home. except me and Arty Dent. well. like we were broken fixtures on the wall. we all get by with a little help from our friends. black and white world. He was supposed to be on some medication. Riches are measured in the time you have to do what you love. and the size of your bank account is merely the cruelest. I found clean water dripping. warmth from steam vents for the cold nights and even a bit of soil for growing basics in summertime. but if you were meant to be there.
s/he convinced me to let Arty force them to negotiate in a less drastic way. before the story was done. I wasn’t worried. and “consecrate the ground with his ashes. so people kind of tuned him out when he promised us that he would destroy the project from within. at the climax of his speech. and I told Reese our tale. My next plan was to stage a sit-in. and when I remained silent. Turnkin only escaped because I threw my body between them. Instead. We did not have a leader. Turnkin laughed. I was very excited about the opportunity to voice our complaint directly to the one person who could call this entire thing off. A month or so later. before I could reach her/him. I was glad that Arty’s cries for violence fell on deaf ears. After he said his peace. Or so I thought at the time. like when he claimed that he would bring the Secretary of the UN to speak with us. both as people and as a community. We all paid attention at first. even for Arty and none of us really took him seriously. Reese convinced me that a sit-in would only get us arrested. Arty retreated to his corner. and all s/he wanted was to make sure that I kept the rest of the Trenchers out of the way. S/He promised us that s/he would stop the construction if I gave her/him the exclusive scoop and gave her/him enough time to collect the evidence s/he need. All the while. Because they could not find their tools and weren’t sure what was where. Dentner was a reporter. everyone on the entire job site saw Zillias rip into to Turnkin for all of the delays and the fact that the project was behind 29 . and I had every intention of approaching her/him to plead for our sanctuary. S/he said s/he would help by writing a story that would convince the city and the country that we had a right to this land. I could not have imagined the reaction. and bitter would be our harvest.” This was crazy. Reese tailed behind him. I thought he was harmless for the most part. Before I could respond. bitterly. Turnkin just wanted a cease fire. People were used to Arty’s promises. because no one had ever seen Arty that amped up. Zillias visited the site. Construction on the site slowed to a crawl. to take the bad song and make it better by showing our peaceful side. which was kind of cute. but he lost the room when. So I watched as Arty did a bit of graffiti here and moved some tools over there. Some of the Trenchers were a bit scared of what he might do. Emerson Turnkin. I was even going to play the “I knew your mother card” if I had to. and s/he was interested in us. and he had found some back way into the site. and so we were quiet. However. I was stuck with the site manager. I worked for days on what I’d say and how I’d present our perspective and our requests. and he wouldn’t hurt anyone. Arty called it Operation Turtle. Arty was in earshot the whole time. Little did I know that we had sowed the seeds of our own undoing. like one of those Buddhist monks. s/he exploded! I sat calmly as s/he cursed us all in the most florid terms. taking notes. One day in January. However. the crew had to start each day repairing the damage. Arty had some military training at one point in the past. bellowing curses and swinging some kind of construction shovel. I had just decided that our only hope was to appeal to the public when Providence brought us her gift. and I suggested that they move the project to another blighted hole in the city.45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 gave him his space. the first among equals. He knew the land around the Trench better than anyone. not a real and lasting peace. instead of Zillias. Arty even talked about making it “extra dramatic” by killing himself on the site of the construction! He said he would light himself on fire. Reese Dentner. for all of his huffing and puffing. when the big day came. but I was primus inter pares. Our non-violent resistance was really getting to them. he charged. Reese told me that s/he managed to get me a sit down with Zillias her/himself. he promised that he would ensure that the enemy’s satellites never found us. I reiterated that our request was simple: we wanted our home back. and then there would be no chance of stopping the development. Although neither I nor Turnkin knew it. I agreed. Arty didn’t have the tools or the concentration to do anything dangerous.
under Zillias’ orders. Micah something or other. I fled from that darkness. all bowed before the unholy hundreds that Zillias used to resolve any dispute. I saw how the workers sped through their jobs. S/he showed us the pictures. and they refused to work as well. I watched as Turnkin. when it was convenient for her/his story. And yet. and I knew s/he would again. S/he said that s/he respected us and what we had accomplished. until only Arty and I remained. But now no one on the site cared at all. It mostly worked. and it said that the lift wasn’t approved! I thought it would buy us another month or two. Somehow. By then. cut the safety sweeps. S/he said that Zillias was working the crane too hard. When I asked him whether he had stolen it. turning over some kind of large wrench in his hand. I wanted to fight on. he replied that it had trespassed on his land and was therefore his. From there. There was a new sheriff in town. asking if they 30 . Arty sat. I saw one person fall when a ladder slipped beneath her. It was a letter from the city inspectors. I awakened to the sound of winds howling in the tunnel and the steady flow of water streaming through the sluice gates. Other than that. in ones and twos. and many other injuries. as I did every day. They faded away. I saw a person’s foot get run over by a forklift. I also kept up my efforts to find the miracle that would save our home. stood up to Zillias. and that although they could not stop the project from happening. hurt their hands and smashed their bodies. and Zillias was not about let us – or anything else – slow down the project. someone nearly electrocuted by live wires laying in puddles. I will never forget August 31st. S/he had ignored the law before. In March. in the depths of his rage and paranoid fantasy. and that s/he wasn’t going up there to die for her/him. One night in April. but the remaining Trenchers were tired. Zillias’ karmic debt came due. too. too. S/he had sold her/his soul to the demon dollar. s/he could promise that if we stayed out of the way. and I saw that s/he too was just using us for her/his own purposes. taking pictures of our murals and gathering the records of our community. the wool had been lifted from my eyes. She was carried off on a stretcher. I was searching through the trash at the site. We were all taken in by it. I knew that Reese’s article had been published the night before. the citizens rallying to our side. but I wasn’t surprised when Zillias started preparing for the lift anyway. in late August. Turnkin was gone and Zillias ruled the night. there would be a place for us in the new building. The second shift was even worse. By then. I took that as a yes. In June. although Arty could still get in somehow. when I found a discarded piece of paper with the City’s logo in the header. only Arty could see that Turnkin spoke with a forked tongue. But by then. I was still the fool. I saved what art I could. There was no hope in the story for us. The only reason that it didn’t happen was that the crane person. even as Zillias was ordering the next person in line to climb that same ladder. and how the building would be powered with the wind’s own breath. unmoving. On August 24. things really changed. and I raced out to see the people. That was the only time I saw Zillias lose a fight. staring into the distance. It went on for an hour. but s/he did not tell us until much later. reading his magazines and muttering about the devil. The other workers rallied around her/his leadership. and I watched as they turned their ankles. But there was no one there but the construction workers and a couple of kids. A fence was put up to keep us out. somehow. except Arty.91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 schedule. Perhaps Reese knew. Zillias got into a fight with the union when s/he tried to force the ironworkers to do their jobs in the middle of a lightning storm. I realized that Reese was writing a tragic tale that needed to serve us up as the victims. and the negativity poisoned the air and killed the spirits of peace in their womb. Turnkin finally entered our part of the Trench. how the light would come through the roof to light and warm us. to sit in.
near the area where the big crane was perched. the last soldier on the battlefield. but I do not. around 3 p. a gust knocked Zillias’ hard hat off of her/his head. There was no way they could lift in those conditions. and so was Zillias’ dream. Life goes on. London Packard Signature December 12. Then. That’s when I saw the crane start moving. He was dead. but I clung to the hope that someone of sense would stop it. because she immediately raised the red flag. But in the face of Tatum Zillias I see the face of the devil. Then. I guess he really meant to make that statement after all. You might think I hate Tatum Zillias. In it. When I got nearer. You could see how hard it was for the crane operator to hold the panel in place. S/He must have heard the screams from the crane. I went through his meager belongings. I gave a happy shout. 2012 DATE 31 . I was paralyzed by their screams. even one who I saw take the lives of two others for thirty pieces of silver. awestruck. It was as if Zillias had angered Aeolus himself. S/he retreated. there was this bizarre manifesto thing. I went looking for him. When I saw the rains and heard the howling winds.m. but no sooner had s/he shut the door to the manager’s office behind her/him than the strongest wind of the day tore through the job site. That is how I will remember my friend. but only caught a glimpse of him later – at least I think it was him. and I knew that whatever the gods threw at Tatum Zillias. our only hope was delay. he (or whoever it was in that trench coat) was gone. out of the corner of my eye. others will see that life does not have a price. Then Zillias grabbed the green flag from the safety inspector’s hand and waved it furiously in the direction of the lift operator. I watched the lift as one watches the executioner’s sword descending. It caught the panel. because a split second later. bra. s/he would never stop. Zillias emerged from the manager’s office. Zillias is nothing more than a product of the capitalist culture that eats away at our national soul. as the massive crane began to crumble under its own weight. an angel descended. Later. but it was something about how Zillias was in control and no bureaucrat could stop the lift. hands raised in terror. his trench coat billowing in the wind. out of nowhere. But I do not wish ill for any person. The government agent came down from the manager’s office.137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 could have a picture with the “mole people. but he was nowhere to be found. Then. the panel was literally twisting in the wind. or defiance. and that no cost can be assigned to a person’s home. ran down towards the safety officer and started yelling at her. I saw Arty. and I turned to celebrate with Arty. When the first lift took place. and s/he was doing a bad job of it.” And without a protest. I couldn’t hear well enough to know exactly what was said. I found this envelope addressed to Reese Dentner of all people. I watched. impassively watching the suffering of others. I gave thanks to the kami of the earth and skies that had come to protect us. rooted still by the vortex of karma crackling around me. Perhaps if s/he is convicted.. mid-lift. and swinging back and forth like The Pit and the Pendulum. But they pushed on. I’m not sure . or victory. the Trench will be returned to those who love it. there would be no going back. Once the giant roofing panels were placed on top of the structure. crushed beneath the weight of his foe. and the crane started to shimmy. and workers were running in every direction. Panic ensued. Perhaps if Zillias is convicted.
in these budgetary times. My new staff and I spent six months identifying possible opportunities. I arranged to meet with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. and we found Franklin’s Trench. But I kept going. and although Zillias Development pled guilty to several counts of misdemeanor false statements on HUD paperwork from when I was in charge. we had a plan in place. That gave me the money for the next place. house after house. I had to tell my mother. I knew we’d never hit the 2011 deadline. my money. In ’06. It wasn’t easy. The Trench was an eyesore. I gathered together every dime I could beg. but in a year. I was my high school salutatorian. We built some incentives into the deal that would make it profitable if it was done by the end of 2011 and not too bad a loss if we got the principal work done by October 2012. I had three employees. When I sold that house. to a homeless mother and a father I never met. public housing. with the goal of making the world a better place and keeping me well-funded into my retirement. basically the cost of doing business. and I was studying business at Temple when I realized that the best business was right around me: land. I didn’t make much. We had it all: public assistance. When I saw the concept drawings. when the HUD Secretary planned to speak at a conference in town and wanted to visit the site with the Mayor. and the Commonwealth. but I got buy-ins through various grants and other organizations for almost 40% of the costs. Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. better. Project Z would build a public housing development like no other in the world. let’s just say that Mom lives in one of the houses she used to clean. While mom thought I was still taking classes. being used for absolutely nothing. By the end of 2010. I didn’t have the money to do that kind of job without putting my entire fortune on the line. When the real estate market collapsed. you know? And that’s how Franklin’s Trench started. the house looked different. if there wasn’t food anywhere else. I realized that all over Pennsylvania. I hired Emerson Turnkin. and Chester Counties. where I was born. 2010. and I made lots of mistakes fixing the place up. borrow. the Mayor’s Office. She worked two. By 2004. who was just the kind of person I wanted: someone who 32 . or steal and put money down on a house just north of school. there were old industrial sites or communities that were undervalued. and an MBA with it. a 50’ deep gash in the city nearly two full blocks long. my name wasn’t on any of it. and I did it again.Statement of Tatum Zillias 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 So you want to know where it all started? It started in the gutter. on the third tee at Aronimink. I sold the company to Short & Coors for… well. I realized that there was a huge opportunity coming in public housing. She made sure I got what she did not. Project Z was born. Bucks. I had to sign a non-compete agreement through 2009. The place was a wreck. I knew that it was the perfect place to show off Project Z to the world. buying sites in depressed areas for peanuts and putting up McMansions. My mother pounded on me from my first breath that I wasn’t going to make the mistakes she made. and she was very upset that I had lied to her. but it was real money. but I set my sights on October 2012 with a vengeance. so. By 1990. They got fined a few hundred thousand dollars. Then a Temple classmate asked me to build her a home in Delaware County. I pitched a deal to them: if they would help fund it and let me have the property itself for $1. all those years later. turning the squatter-infested ditches into the foundation of a new community. So on January 1. and church kitchens. I realized that almost everything I’d done in my life was for people richer than I was growing up. we got the land transfer completed and our permits in hand. I used the time to get my degree from Temple. One day. using my connections in the city and counties. public schools. sometimes three jobs to pay for tutoring and sports and everything. I didn’t get caught up in it. I was building more homes than anyone in the Berks.
and agreed that we needed the biggest crane they had – Fightin’ Phil. but by September. and we cut the sweep to twenty minutes and the briefing to ten. I mean. I mean. I found the solution: make the polymers dark on sunny days. and I knew s/he would be tough with them. citations from OCIS for this and that. You can’t make a construction site 100% safe. and we had won. using polymers. I funded the Trench out of my own investment in Project Z. and someone who understood the regulatory structure enough to cut the necessary corners without endangering any lives. OCIS was. we knew that it worked. like somebody who trips or has a tool fall on their hard hat. But six months into the construction. and if they need tax money to help.” Instead of just following the Code. 33 . just in case some squatter did something. Too slowly. I started reviewing all the paperwork personally: work plans.46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 could get things done right. I knew that housing recipients often have trouble affording utility bills. We could offset the lost solar power with wind turbines! The engineers were skeptical. the turbines had to be built into the roof itself. because in order to be efficient. followed by a full briefing… it was like construction kindergarten! I don’t remember my exact words. and light on cloudy ones. to get solar power. but you don’t do what doesn’t have to be done. I had been focused on landing public works projects in Detroit and in Memphis. I meant that we can pay for minor injuries. The technology required that the polymers be continuous. I sent the company a couple million dollars – all of what was left of the Project Z public money – and told them to build! From then on. in January 2012. I’m all for worker safety. I read their promotional material. And they would still block a lot of the light. However. and what was done was covered in obscene graffiti. I showed my check to Grace and told my workers to get going. better solar panel technology. I just couldn’t believe that someone with Turnkin’s reputation wasn’t getting things done! And it got worse. We put up a fence to keep the squatters out. but I know Turnkin says I said that we can pay for people or something like that. so we had to build two enormous panels almost a city block long each. I didn’t just want any public housing building. studied the cranes’ specs. s/he mumbled something about some squatters sabotaging the work. the public pays for that. but every week. When I confronted Turnkin. which meant paying PECO to light the place. and I realized that Turnkin wasn’t running the site. After that. I wanted the public housing building. This was my project. and their morale went even higher when I showed that I would pay the workers’ compensation claims that were accumulating. and I wasn’t leaving anything to chance! I gave Turnkin a simple instruction: you follow the Code and you protect the workers. We designed it with double-paned windows. too. I talked to the workers and the people from ELS. but fair. you name it. I visited the site. Meanwhile. they were worshipping it… an hour-long safety sweep at the beginning of every day. I lost it. I knew that a Japanese firm was working on a new. I started spending a ton of time in the Project Manager’s office. when solar would be pointless. 2011. conditioned on success at Franklin’s Trench. my good name was on the line. I wanted to turn an urban blight – the Trench – into a story of success. and putting them on the roof meant limiting natural light. and the foundation was barely laid! I was mortified – that was supposed to be done almost two months earlier. but Turnkin did. or out of my pocket. and I wanted to do it in a 100% sustainable way. things on the site were moving slowly. So I wanted to make the building energy-neutral. and solar power. I also hired Estratton Lift Services in early 2011. I didn’t have much experience with unions. In June. recycled insulation. and trying to do that was a pointless waste of a fantastic amount of time and money. it was considerably heavier than the original designs. That’s twisting my words. and quickly. Sure we had minor violations. but this Grace person was straight out of central casting for “Pencil Pusher. But regular solar panels aren’t that effective in the city. regulatory documents. They were really inspired to be free to get things done.
But Emerson told me that the temporary roofing probably would not make it through more than a day or so of heavy rain. but Micah assured us she could pull it off as long as we got it done by the time the winds really kicked up. proving what my. and three were predicted! So I asked the critical question: is it safe to lift? Grace seemed doubtful. Or beyond that. that could destroy weeks of work and set us back hundreds of thousands of dollars. anyway. On August 30. because we added another shift. with that squatter running around. I spoke to the “troops.m.” even giving away my big secret – I had bought tickets to Bruce Springsteen’s Labor Day show at Citizens Bank Park for all of them! We still had not received a response from the City about permission for the revised lift plan. which would leave the project at a very significant loss. The costs were adding up! It seemed like I was tapping my personal savings every week. It would also guarantee that we would miss the October bonus deadline. but they were 2900 tons each. I’d be ruined! I’m exaggerating. as in Franklins. our detractors had been saying all along. so we went ahead.m. get it? That violated union rules. and rain was falling! Still. the big day was finally there. we got some terrifying news: the panels were done. We now had the site active 16 hours a day. That’s way more than we expected. in April. so I had to agree to pay Micah an incentive payment to keep the crane going and to get an additional insurance policy to repair the crane if it broke. I guess. Then. We had removed the temporary roof. On August 31. I told Turnkin to handle the reporter and to tell the squatters whatever it took to leave us alone. which was supposed to be early in the evening. 6 a. The most they could do was fine us. too. I also started handing out $100 bills if I saw someone doing something especially well. but not by much. of course. and I started a second shift. I knew we had the Mayor’s support. since I stopped that doped-up crane operator! I was also being pressured to meet the squatters’ leader to assure them that there would be a place for them in the new building – which of course I couldn’t control – and with the press. I was at the site every day. The dream of sustainable. I watched the roof come off the ships from Hiroshima. and we had the Mayor’s backing for the project. but business was getting done. and I couldn’t have been more proud. but I never got a single grievance! A month or two later. Micah was worried about the weather. praying that we could hit the October deadline. sometimes from dawn to dusk.93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 construction workers understand that there are risks in the work. but then Micah Estratton explained that engineering limits are always set below maximum capacity. But that wasn’t our contract. we held a team meeting. of course. and if heavy rains got in. but I wasn’t going to let bureaucratic delay stop progress. and I was horrified how long it took to get the scene cleared. but we never heard back from them. The last two weeks in August were the most intense in my career. $100. With all that I’d put in. er. so I wasn’t worried. By June. The neighbors weren’t happy. It wasn’t supposed to make landfall up by us. if we missed that deadline. I watched the first lift in awe of how 34 . so that we could run around the clock. but even the winds from a dying hurricane could destroy the temporary roofing over the Trench project. until 10 p. Micah told me that the big crane had handled that load years before with only one issue and it probably could again. and so was Grace from OCIS. I took an apartment above the site so I could be around all the time. and they will take them as long as they know that management will do its part if they are hurt. modern public housing was in view… as was the future of Project Z! The only thing dampening our spirits – so to speak – was a hurricane brewing in the Gulf of Mexico. Good thing. I told Emerson to write to the City and get their permission. I could see that the work was still falling behind. It almost stopped before it started. And I was watching the calendar every day. Like I said. 2900 tons was over the contractual engineering limit on the crane! I thought we were cooked.
and she held it up. S/he couldn’t even really do a true full stop. S/he was a wizard with that crane! Then. so I told her to zip it. just after 3 p. and she gave Micah the green flag. Do I regret what happened? Of course. Then. and it didn’t seem like a big deal to me. I could see that Micah wasn’t having much fun up there. But after she put down the radio. I wanted to give those people a good. and all of a sudden. But third degree murder? Are they out of their mind? I followed every rule. though. really. Grace even screamed. even though we had to pause – again – for the shift change at noon. Project Z. ever wanted to hurt anyone. and every other American city would follow our lead. The first hour was a little scary. Then she left the office. whether it fails or succeeds. firmly but calmly. After that.m. and I accept responsibility for it. Everything on the second lift started off smooth as silk. my vision. I went back to the office.. You didn’t need to look at a weather report to confirm that. Everything was going fine for the next couple minutes. talking about this violation or that one. I shoved the green flag at Grace.” which the Code permits if there isn’t evidence of tampering. but none of them had anything to do with the lift. 15. but I could tell that Micah didn’t have another hour to waste. But that report was a couple hours old. She was a regulator. then a snap. s/he had to keep adjusting. That was my dream. It was almost 2 p. I heard a ringing. I watched. but the squatter? He ruined everything. by the time that they got ready for the second lift. like the sail on my boat. You could see Micah in constant motion. so that Detroit. with Micah’s face contorted in the cockpit. and the ones I didn’t I paid the mandated penalty without uttering a word of protest. I did what had to be done for the good of the project and of the people of Philadelphia.m. Then I saw the roof start sliding along. I wanted to give them what I never had. Micah was totally confident. They could not find the guy. The wind was picking up and gusting. By the time that the first piece got down. the cockpit went white. and s/he said her/his crane could do the job. to my horror. until the crane topped out. So I called Micah. horrified. Grace demanded to talk to Micah about it again! She said something about a revised weather report. or anything but a missing tool. But do I regret taking charge that day and in the months before? Heck no. Grace waved the red flag again. and Memphis. I never. At first I thought it was all the noise the crane was making. Then I learned the squatter was around again. I hope he rots in the ground. I was pacing my office like a caged animal. and the dreams of hundreds of families. just the wind we expected coming a little early. and ask anybody who worked that site and they’ll tell you: nobody cared more about them or did more for them than Tatum Zillias. fighting to keep the roof in position. sustainable home for them to raise their children to be the next generation of Tatum Zilliases. but Micah didn’t think much of that and neither did I. And when s/he called me on the radio. as the roof crashed down. I ordered the site to do a “quick sweep. reluctantly. Grace still was talking about calling it off! Emerson and I held firm. not the boss of the site! We spoke. Within seconds. 2012 DATE 35 . to watch the lift from the ground. that big crane collapsed like some tinker toys. He destroyed that crane. Tatum Zillias Signature Dec. that roof. So I went down to see what the holdup was. it was clear s/he was worried about the growing wind. I hope he rots in… well. she kept moping around. Grace wanted another full sweep. Grace’s death is awful. The lift was smooth. Well.140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 Micah conducted the aerial ballet… at least once she got the hang of it.
The job was going to conclude with lifts of two massive. Of course. Since 1988. Prior to August 31. you probably haven’t heard of it. I’d been working with Phil almost exclusively for over eighteen years. and it could have crushed a worker. too. But once I got into the chair. at least to me. at least. I wasn’t happy to be working with Turnkin. He’d be booked fifty-two weeks a year if we let him! But every three months we try to take him down and do a full inspection for metal fatigue. a position akin to its President. Phil was one of the last cranes my mom designed before she passed. The worst we ever had was a snap-drop. We erected Phil in late September. transmission and hydraulic components. most of the early lifts were a tiny fraction of what Phil can carry. From 2002 until 2006. sure. and Phil has been booked forty-eight weeks a year since the day he lifted his first I-beam. Zillias asked for the spec sheets for both cranes. I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University. you call us. and I’m forty-six years old. we’d never had a major accident on Fightin’ Phil. but customers are willing to pay for that downtime. when the cables supporting the load snapped. too. I have received lifetime service awards from Local 542 and from the Association of Wire Rope Fabricators. Plus. And there’s no more special machine in the world. in early 2011. and I’ve been a proud member of the International Union of Operating Engineers for over twenty-five years. but Phil’s cockpit is my real home. I was the Business Manager of Local 542. a smaller crane based on Phil’s design. and Turnkin was surprisingly good. so I explained to Zillias that using the crane with the higher load rating would be safer. ELS was contacted by Tatum Zillias’ firm. That cost us nearly $1 million in insurance pay-outs. I have also served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Crane and Rigging Professionals for a decade. than Fightin’ Phil. Zillias told us that things had changed. I’ll jump on other systems. 2012. and we check and clean all of his engine. concave surfaces weighing 2300 tons each. lower-footprint crane east of the Mississippi. to the job. We hadn’t inspected Phil in over five months when that happened. I visited the job site and met the site supervisor. eight hours or more a day. Project Z. We’re also unique in that we contract for both the lift system and its operations staff. some of that time he’s being assembled and disassembled. Turnkin was known for much smaller projects. but in April. and I regularly speak at the annual meeting of the Crane Institute’s certification classes. but after that we started using a highergrade steel in the cables. and Zillias said the design could change again.Statement of Micah Estratton 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 My name is Micah Estratton. The only thing that upset me was that Turnkin had us lifting even when those squatters 36 . Emerson Turnkin. Big Tony’s only rated to 2300. and eventually decided to go with Phil. My mom was a crane engineer. When the Franklin’s Trench incident happened. probably thirty plus weeks a year. in a fixed configuration. It hurt our profits. and he’s a marvel. But I wasn’t in charge. there hasn’t been a higher-lift. lives are the most important thing. If you need a specialty machine. five days a week. She was the one who founded Estratton Lift Systems. although of course we’d had our share of smaller mishaps. We hire only the best and most experienced operators – Mom wouldn’t even let me operate Phil until I got my ten year pin from the union. If you’re not a hard hat like me. When he’s down to be moved or maintained. A few weeks later. but at ELS. I’ve been working in the construction field since I turned sixteen. I’ve never left – Phil is the only crane for me. just to stay current. who has a reputation in the construction community for cutting corners and stiffing the union on her/his bills. but ELS is the Mid-Atlantic’s premier provider of specialty cranes and sling systems. even though it meant paying a substantial extra fee to get Phil out of a prior reservation. We were going to task Big Tony. but my real education came on the job site. and she wouldn’t let my sisters and I think of any work as off-limits to us.
Reese asked me for an interview a couple of times. But I knew that Phil could handle it. especially the down time at the start and end of the day. Minor inconvenience really. The only issue we ever had was a broken hydraulic line or two on one of those super heavy lifts. when we do the safety sweeps and work plans. because without it. After that. I had dreams of improving Phil to take on even heavier loads. I took Rose’s side 37 . I met with Zillias and Turnkin. Then. even though you had to watch out for yourself. but we never heard back from them. Zillias was upset about the delay. S/he added an overnight shift. In January 2012.” Zillias calmly told us to leave them alone. I knew that if we nailed this job. In April. Zillias had other work under contract. Everyone knew that we were running against a short clock – some D. and s/he started a second shift. accidents increased. Reese Dentner. shutting down Phil. far more than we had been told to expect. and that could have meant a lot of money to ELS. A crane can lift a lot more than its maximum engineering load. that it was a “political” problem to move them out too soon. 2012. we got some disturbing news. Zillias was a hard driver. and he’s gone as long as six months twice before. and it was now clear that Zillias and Turnkin were running the site. the intensity doubled again. The panels for the Big Lifts were done. made overtime easy. and once Turnkin got done swearing a blue streak about those “mole people. I’d never been on a site that spent so much time on that stuff. It was going to be a real kumbaya moment. By June. so s/he could be there at any time. This was an especially significant problem.46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 were present. and more than once s/he would come flying down to berate Turnkin or light into one of the workers. but I guess it worked. if we had the place ready. When he came online in mid-April. The OCIS lady. things changed. I was doing ten hour shifts and so was my partner.C. everything got cut back. There was no rest for us – we were the only ones who could operate Phil. because Fightin’ Phil has a normal maximum engineering load of 2750 tons. We carefully inspected him for metal fatigue and replaced all the worn or weakened parts. Zillias was willing to do whatever had to be done to get it there. my team was pretty drained. Word got around the union that it was a good site to work. on July 3. was great. We were especially careful since we knew that we probably would not get a chance before the Big Lifts in August. either way. was always hanging around the squatters’ leader. Even though I knew Phil could handle it. That just meant we had to stop the lift for a quick repair. In April. Grace. who had apparently hit the “kill switch” that we install in the Project Manager’s office. but she spent her weekly inspections looking like she had eaten a lemon. I knew what Zillias meant: this reporter. Zillias visited the site and tore into Turnkin for nearly an hour because we were running a few weeks behind schedule. I wasn’t too worried. but knew it was foolish to not take the time to prevent a major accident. and we would have to hold the load there until they left. day or night. which is generally set around 85% of its likely failure rating. I arrived to find Rose screaming at Zillias. put in incentives. and even took up residence right above the site. They weren’t wearing hard hats or anything. but you need to request special permission for a load over engineering tolerance. he’d done loads between 2800 tons and 3000 tons four or five times in the ‘90s. we idled Phil for the last time. though. not OCIS. By the end of the month. I asked Turnkin to write the City right away. and they weighed over 2900 tons each. Rose Rivett. and they often would walk under loads that could kill them! Sometimes they would even do it on purpose. We were turning people away from then on. that can put a lot of unnecessary stress on a crane. but I don’t stick my nose where it doesn’t belong. It wasn’t all roses and chocolates. big wig was due to tour the facility in October with the Mayor and our union leaders. he was good as new. though. But Zillias paid all the workers’ compensation claims without challenge. though: his initial design tolerance was five months.
I had heard about them being available among the site crew. but instead I saw her green flag me. which was mostly true. The wind was gusting. and code only requires one every week. Then. so I called Turnkin and asked whether to proceed with the second lift. Besides. when the roof lifted off. weather wise.m. I soon had the hang of it. Around quarter to eight. We all knew that the hurricane was coming. but then I learned that she had almost punched a side out of an adjoining building. and the shifts on the ground changed. though. Grace asked if the lift was safe. I got it up to apex and slid it over. but we felt it was worth it. making sure that everything was working. when something’s wrong. I gave Phil a pat. Zillias. around 2:15. I later learned they found a wrench in Phil’s gears. Grace from OCIS and I worked the problem over and over. and the second piece lifted at 2:45. the lift was a bit different. we didn’t touch down until almost 1:30. Zillias got on the phone and told me we were a go. I’ve been running Phil most of my adult life. and I could 38 . I limit myself to ten hour shifts. The full site sweep ate up more than an hour. as we looked at the weather report. 2012. so I called back and told Grace that we ought to get the lift done fast if we were going to do it at all. Once it was over the Trench. faces were grim. because I almost lost it when the first big gust hit. the timing would have been fine. Around 7:15 or 7:30. There was no doubt there was a risk there. Still. I told her that the load and the wind were both within Phil’s 100% tolerance. though. so I had to adjust quickly to the changes. I started my shift a little before 7 a. They were taking their time. especially late in the day. I saw some kind of discussion going on. That meant a slick site and the potential for injuries. as I figured out how the concave panel would respond to Phil and the wind.. If that damn squatter hadn’t hit the site. and I hear she’s in counseling now. At this point. everyone was excited about getting the Big Lifts done. but we’d done one that Monday. By August 30th. Even though the rain wasn’t bad – yet – the initial part of the lift was stop-and-go. so we moved as quickly as possible to get Phil back into starting position. Instead. and Grace didn’t stop us. given the load and the wind in the revised weather report that everyone at the site got during the shift change at noon. The rain was supposed to get worse. Because Phil is not a single-piece. but without Rose. It was a good thing I took it slow. We all knew the wind was only going to get worse. it was a matter of lowering it slowly and letting the folks on the ground put it in place. I got a call from the Project Manager’s office. when the edge of what was left of Isaac got closer. and after one more false start. because I wanted to get the lift done before the storm rolled in. and they didn’t find anything! It was almost 10 a.m. which is great. but we had run too late. I was worried about that wind. I know it. and if it hit without the roof in place. I was working twelve and fourteen hour days most of July and August.93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 immediately. Turnkin. On August 31. I started going through my pre-lift checklists. And the winds could be an issue. But I’ve never had an accident on my sheet. So I had to hold it in place for fifteen minutes while they switched and another fifteen while the new guys did their initial safety check. walking the site and looking Phil over. and my crew was pretty beat. the foreman threw up a red flag. I wasn’t happy about that. Do you really think an aluminum wrench is going to stop Phil? That’s like trying to stop a steamroller with a Coke can. and I didn’t get one then. I figured she’d call it off for sure. months of work would be ruined. After that. Still takes it out of you. but I never thought one of my people would do that! We moved her to a lift on a more relaxed site. I already knew what her/his answer would be. he’s vulnerable to structural failure if he tips or the load pulls him too strongly. Still. Right away. things were getting worse. I didn’t feel it. but safety comes first. We didn’t have time for a complete safety inspection. It turns out she had started taking amphetamines to try to keep up the pace. especially missing time with the kids. I had an immediate near-disaster. Usually. but that’s no surprise. fixed point crane. That was supposed to happen around noon.
but that’s not what brought Phil down. I know every sound that crane makes. 2012 DATE 39 . Code violation. But then I heard about that squatter and that fire axe. but like I said. The wind caught that roof. The wind was so strong that I almost couldn’t spin Phil and slacken the lines enough to compensate. I was reaching for the auxiliary hydraulics when I heard the strut snap. too. all I felt was falling.140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 hear Phil straining. I guess. even a brand new hydraulic kit can snap from the kind of stress that gusting winds and a big lift bring. if the stresses are high enough. and we had just lifted 2900 tons. I wondered whether we should have insisted on a regular maintenance schedule or if I should have called off the second lift. dragging it to my left. or that Phil could. I’ll mourn for Grace. I got on the horn and told them to hurry up. I got the second piece up more quickly. As the roof panel cleared the last building. it was tense up there and I was focused on the roof. I had it near-apex when another red flag waved. So what did happen? I wondered that. putting a triple load on the next one. and he wasn’t quitting on me. I wasn’t sure I could handle that. and the wind was really howling. I slammed the red airbag button as Phil came apart beneath me. each piece supports the next in a precisely balanced structure. and I couldn’t spin fast enough. When I woke up. After that. we should have been better about wearing our vests. maybe. it caught the wind fiercely. I saw the green flag wave again and I started moving the panel again towards the roof. and I spoke to her after I got back from the ER. Workers climb ladders that are “too steep” every day. I wondered how Phil could have failed. Around 3:10. no problem. That was all she wrote. and I can’t remember anyone falling. At 3:20 or so. which snaps. So I had to stop. but not a safety hazard. I would not have gone up there myself if Phil wasn’t stable. compensating for the wind with very slight movements. and for that squatter. But then Phil and I hit apex. that we didn’t have time for another hour-long sweep. even in mid-turn. and I wasn’t discharged until the following Tuesday. I just know I did. In a crane like Phil. I thought it must been the sheer force of the wind. The lift was smooth for about five minutes. But I got control again – or at least I thought I did – when all of a sudden. I watched Zillias and Grace have some kind of discussion. the highest point of the lift. but my eyes were mostly on that roof. I was in and out of consciousness over the weekend. Tools get laid down wrong. but we were fine. I have read Quinn Baxter’s report. but I got it under control in seconds. Still. It’s almost impossible to stop the cascade once it starts. Because I now had a feel for things. but s/he treats every violation like it’s a capital offense. Yeah. but we know not to step on a rotary saw. I saw the hydraulic light blink on. I was in the ER. But they’re not dead because we didn’t fill out paperwork every time we checked the job site or because Kate Hooper left the keys in her truck. Nor was it the concrete. too. I am sure I had Phil under control. And that can happen without warning. They may have been scary seconds. If he’d chopped my hydraulic lines at the wrong time. that could’ve slowed the spin enough to tip Phil over. Stuff happens. One break puts twice the load on the next piece. I am mostly certain it was Grace who gave the go signal. For the first few weeks. Micah Estratton Signature December 7. I had the green flag too. They didn’t find anything wrong except a missing fire ax or something. and Tommy forgot his steel-toes. I respect Quinn for all s/he’s done for workers. and all I heard were screams. Of course.
after the very same practices that they allowed Zillias to follow for their political agenda have gone wrong. all lining up to buy the Emerald City mirage that Zillias was selling. a person I have spent my life pursuing. they’re the same hounds baying for her/him to be tried for Murder 3. and master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University. politics. so that I can be as honest as possible about what I learned and how I learned it. I suppose I got in my fair share of trouble. And now. it turns out that being accused of criminal behavior in pursuit of a story makes it a bit more challenging to get hired by a main stream media source. but I was born in the U.com. with a specialty in journalism. So instead I did one better: I wrote an expose called “Unsafe at Any Speed” that was published in the Inquirer and picked up by The Delaware County Times and The Morning Call. I found my way to Philly in 2003. My family is from the United Kingdom. and the rest of us at a substantial discount! In my years. HUD… they were all in bed with Tatum Zillias. and I even slipped and fell in an oil slick and broke my ankle. I was hired straight away by a paper in London. ye mighty. and we moved around a lot. It was a good deal. It’s all politics. I love the land of brotherly love! Between the intense love and hatred of its sports teams. That’s how I met Tatum Zillias. but on account of my dad’s position. but Zillias threatened to sue me for trespassing. On the other hand.S. And there’s no doubt that this might as well be The Crucible. and I’m a reporter. a finder of truths and a teller of tales. and I never. renounced my British citizenship. writing pieces on contingency for TMZ. and there’s no dirtier sport out there. and despair. where I got my bachelor’s degrees in English and Communication. I’m not a big fan of witch hunts unless I am the one holding the torch. they agreed to drop the investigation as long as I turned over the information I had not yet published. OCIS. muckraker. Zillias 40 . and I took it. so I started my career as an independent journalistic professional. So let me be clear at the outset: I think Tatum Zillias is a snake who would sell her/his own mother for the right price. and it’s the same reason I write about people like Tatum Zillias: someone has to stop them before their cut-rate safety budgets maim or kill everyone who works for them. ever came back. that kind of thing is frowned upon. Anyway. So I’ve seen a bit of the world. The City. From what I’ve heard. two functioning daily papers. There’s a reason that Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle. and lax rules regarding confronting wrongdoers in the street with a video camera. afflict the comfortable. Like Rita Skeeter. I attended Villanova University. but I fell in love with America. I have rarely seen a person who more demonstrates the power and the danger of true capitalism. when I left New York over a misunderstanding of the state’s rules regarding trespassing and sifting through residents’ trash. it was perfect for me. which would be a lock. and – above all – to sell copy doing it. My father was an American diplomat. I’m a freelance investigator.Statement of Reese Dentner 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 My name is Reese Dentner. The judge has given me immunity to testify. A hundred dollar bill and I got a tip from a trusted source at the Pennsylvania Bureau of Occupational and Industrial Safety that Zillias had one of the worst safety records of any developer in the area. The Sludge Report. I’m well aware of the irony of testifying on behalf of Tatum Zillias. I should know. and Redbook. There’s more grandstanding going on here than at a Premier League soccer stadium. It’s my job to comfort the afflicted. the occasional corruption indictment. I was going to sue. my career was very nearly derailed by the same kind of thing. Look upon my works. But still. but nothing like the scandal that broke when I was accused of paying private investigators to hack cell phone and email accounts of members of the royal family! Apparently. I snuck onto some of her/his worksites and boy was that right! Tools were everywhere. not involuntary manslaughter.
a guy with a military background who was also living there. he would mutter to himself as he walked around. Regardless. but sometimes he would just do things that he claimed changed the “aura” of the place. Anyway. It was pretty much a journalistic dud. Dent was obsessed with resisting the loss of his home. because it was meant to stop the construction and preserve the endangered Trenchers. He’d done some horrible things he would not discuss. He called it Operation Turtle. How bizarre! Anyway. where he claimed that the satellites could not find him. so you could get a good look at everything. Bill. I got a sense of the personalities involved. He knew the tunnels. when he would bother to take them. Whichever it was. but that was a lie. For Dent. where the Project Z workers were aliens and that big crane was their mother ship. I got a very nice note from Zillias. the Trench was a place like no other. However. a conciliator. and the other squatters gave him space. and he’s not in them. After a while. I let London know that s/he was the star of my article. Through the latter half of 2011. A few days later. he was weird. I 41 . I checked the Air Force and Navy records. I knew it would be journalistic gold. so I spent a ton of time with him. And nobody else really cared.” without any comment. Those are the only American branches that flew bombers like that. with my long-range mic. From my perch above. Packard was a deal-maker. I heard Zillias reaming out Emerson Turnkin. As I got to know the squatters. and any government that would take it from him was a tyranny and not entitled to support. He said that he had worked on aircraft of some kind. and Zillias called her/him on it. and he had all the rhetoric down. Usually that meant moving tools (he never stole them. though. back when you had that position. He had studied history under the G. or even “mole people” (since they live underground most of the time). like how a man owned property because he improved it. anyway. going on and on about how they could pay for anything but time and how time was the only thing that mattered. for his various mental problems. The person who interested me the most was Arty Dent. a real blowhard who fancied her/himself a labor organizer or something. and things got hot again. having been forced to move myself several times. but I called them “perfect sources. but Dent was a classic aggressor. sheltered underground. bombers. It made it hard to know when he was speaking about reality or about the complex fantasy world he seemed to have.45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 paid out thousands in fines. First he would look for food or loose scrap on the site. though. the site was not well secured. because he said he wasn’t a criminal) or tagging the machines. to go sleep or read. which I could understand. much better than the story on the riverfront casinos I had been pouring my money into. So I went to the site and found – to my shock – that people actually lived there. But then Zillias came back in January. the safety issues were minimal. where he would go with some half-used spray paint he got from local gang kids or some metal he had pried out of some long-forgotten subway station. The only military records for an “Arthur Dent” are for someone in the Army Corps of Engineers. it made Dent the most interesting character in my story. London Packard was the self-appointed leader. and he took me around and showed me back ways into the job site. as a mechanic and bombardier.” I didn’t need to trespass onto the site if there were people already there. Turnkin tried to blame the squatters. Some call them squatters. especially since I could just set up in the building next door with a high-powered camera and a laser microphone. He would often walk away in the middle of a “job. He was also on several different anti-psychotic medications.I. then he would make as much mischief as he could. I think. when I heard that Zillias was interested in the Franklin’s Trench. They also started a second shift and put up a fence. or he said he had. quoting things from the Revolutionary War or classic texts. saying that all of my statements checked out and thanking me for my work. which really cut into our investigative activities. which was ridiculous.
so I don’t think he’d stolen any tools. and he looked like he was praying. Micah Estratton. He said it was a gift from God. 2012. People kept getting injured. I called the police to warn them. and I 42 . I saw Arty for the last time on August 31. I wasn’t surprised. Arty understood immediately. but it also showed what a jerk and buffoon Emerson Turnkin was. Now this was more like it: the site was a mess again. By the time I got down there. because the article not only gave the history of Project Z and Zillias. he was gone. although he denied that was true. and then he smiled and said “You’re right. I finally tracked him down again. though. all that was left of him were his books. and I explained that his death would not mean anything to Zillias. The operator. even more than usual. in his trench coat. when the building would officially be ready for the Mayor and the HUD Secretary. Then they will see that we can kill them. That’s when I heard from London about what they had been told about there being spots reserved for them in the new building. had never agreed to be interviewed for my piece. pretty soon we had a hole in the fence and we could get back to looking in on things. He looked totally calm. trying to save his life. He said that he had a plan: when the crane lifted the roof. I think because they figured out she was passing me info. He didn’t have a bag on him or anything.” I didn’t know what that meant. but I have some ethics. almost all minor stuff. I still have the picture I took of him. I got seriously dirty looks from everybody. isn’t it? Things were really looking up. I have to make the Hive Mother bleed. I got on my scope and I saw Arty. With that kind of attention. Trench Warfare. and he announced that he was going to work on executing his “Master Plan. I was also hearing rumors that lots of other big wigs wanted in: the EPA Administrator (because it was so green). the Japanese ambassador. but I’m saving it for the book. at the edge of the fence. and the workers didn’t like how I explained that their union bosses got bought off in order to ignore the safety problems or how they cheated the workers’ comp system. and time it for the day before the big lift. I checked around. I have to strike at the mother ship to lower the aliens’ shields. so I assume that he had been on the worksite sometime that day. and I started taking lots more notes. but anyway.” Catchy. Most of the squatters had moved on by then. he was going to throw himself off the building next door or go back to his original plan of lighting himself on fire. wind whipping his red hair around like an ancient Visigoth. and he found it. But Zillias paid them anyway! I’m going to do an article on that soon. This wasn’t just an article.92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 left a wire cutter in a ditch near Arty’s bedroll. like he was back on his meds. and that was a total lie. and I saw a couple of guys decide to fake an injury just to get the workers’ comp. Arty was kind of out of it. though. with a bunch of words underlined. She later got fired. calling on his gods to strike down his enemies. an article like mine would be a big hit.” I saw a lot less of him in August. It’s called “Workers’ Romp: Liars Costing YOU Money. I had been doing the morning shows in Philly. but even I didn’t envy her/him that day. He had his hands up. he had a million ways in and out of the area around the site. it was All The President’s Men! I decided that I would write my piece. staring at the big crane. Fightin’ Phil. The rest were old Sports Illustrateds. They were mostly kids’ books on trains and trucks. though. He thought about that for a while. on August 29. By the time they got there. but his sleeping area had a lot of books in it. and only a few remained. following up on the overnight success of Trench Warfare. I was really worried for him. Everything else was gone. That would be a stupid way to die. but one had pictures of construction vehicles. even the governor. I will figure out a better plan. even without our help. You could see her/him fighting the controls from the start. It’s a great image – worth a Pulitzer itself! – a crazy homeless guy in a trench coat. I even got a crane operator to act as my lead source and confirm all of my suspicions about Zillias and the way the site operated. So they were not happy with me. Through July. and I got to the site a little after noon. His coat was dirty. Then.
you… proceed. there’s no better hook for an awards committee than a person imprisoned for a crime s/he did not commit. I only picked up a fragment of a conversation between Grace Hopper from OCIS and Zillias. I’ll sell more books than The Faculty Club! Reese Dentner Signature December 6. I tried to get some “on the ground information” but my long range mic was nearly useless with the winds howling around me.” The mic kept cutting out. That got me on CNN! I told them what I’ll tell you: the whole trial is a farce. S/he’s got money. until the DA announced that they were going after Zillias for murder. I watched them lower that roof on with much difficulty. shortly before the crane collapsed. I guess you can do… you want….” Tatum Zillias refused to talk to me. and he said that s/he had nearly lost control of the crane first thing in the morning.. but no one would see me. We’re trying to get it done by the anniversary. was Arty.” although it looked to me like a pocketful of crazy. struggling to find justice. because they didn’t want the bad publicity any more than HUD did.” Emerson Turnkin knows construction. I heard Hopper yelling “I can’t reach.139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 talked to a source I had developed on her/his team. So that’s about all I have to say about this tragedy. I hate to say I told you so. At one point. but Grace always struck me as a reasonable person. Zillias was going to push to get things done fast. that is until my book on the topic – The Devil in the Trench – is released by Harper Collins next year. folded up piece of paper. and it was someone’s job to stop her/him. London Packard brought me a sealed envelope from Arty’s things that was addressed to me. but didn’t have the guts to shut things down. Tatum Zillias is an awful person and cheapskate. I guess that was the “Master Plan. I even dressed up as a nurse late one night to get an exclusive with Micah Estratton. and he/she isn’t a crane operator. ironically. and OCIS was on site the whole time. but a murderer? That’s just silly. Tatum Zillias isn’t an engineer. The only person who “talked” to me after the crane collapsed. as did Emerson Turnkin. but I knew something like this was going to happen and the prediction I made in my article couldn’t have been more true. Come to think of it. I was shocked that they allowed the lift to go. Things died down. 2012 DATE 43 . London and I opened it together. Around 3:00. A few days after his body was recovered. and in it was this weird. After all. designed to distract people from the fact that the city didn’t do its job and disapprove that lift. or do much of anything. but s/he’s “big picture. I tried to talk to the important players after the crane collapsed. Anyway. or inspect the site.. maybe I should be testifying on the other side of this case.. I could hear the metal on the crane straining. Micah Estratton knows cranes. but s/he was so drugged that s/he couldn’t say anything but “hydraulics” and “too slow. I’m not sure Zillias had ever built something bigger than a few thousand square feet. during the second big lift.
EXHIBIT LIST Exhibit 1: Exhibit 2: Exhibit 3: Exhibit 4: Exhibit 5: Exhibit 6: Exhibit 7: Exhibit 8: Exhibit 9: Exhibit 10: ELS Catalog Page for Fightin’ Phil Artistic Rendering of Franklin’s Trench Construction Site Drawing MOU between HUD. City of Philadelphia and Project Z Term Sheet between ELS and Project Z for Crane Rental Official OCIS Report re: Crane Collapse Weather Reports taken from August 31st (3 different times) Article by Reese Dentner – “Trench Warfare” Arty Dent’s Manifesto Letter from City of Philadelphia 44 .
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Estratton Lift Services Catalog ©2010 page 27 .
Franklin’s Trench Artistic Rendering – David Fox on behalf of Project Z – June 2012 .
Project Z shall serve as the landlord and operator of the Franklin’s Trench Development. documenting its extremely low environmental impact. Inc. and it may collect rent and fees in accordance with HUD regulations. identified more specifically on the attachments hereto and commonly known as “Franklin’s Trench. state and municipal authorities. b. If the Franklin’s Trench Development shall be deemed a LEED Platinum certified building. Project Z shall acquire Franklin’s Trench from the City for a price of $1. Project Z shall be named the developer of the Franklin’s Trench project. the City of Philadelphia (“the City”). and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) relating to the disposition of the property between 17 th and 19th streets south of Spring Garden Street in the City of Philadelphia.” The complete terms of this agreement shall be spelled out in the contract executed herewith.-----------------------------------------------------------------------MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING This Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) between and among Project Z. If the Franklin’s Trench Development shall be deemed a LEED Certified building. Project Z shall receive an additional incentive payment not to exceed $50 per family per month to operate the Franklin’s Trench Development. or ii. documenting its very low environmental impact. and it shall be responsible for the construction thereon of a multi-family apartment building (the “Franklin’s Trench Development”) for use as part of HUD and the City’s efforts to improve the quantity and quality of public housing in Southeastern Pennsylvania. If the Franklin’s Trench Development shall be deemed a LEED Gold certified building. The lease shall have a duration of thirty (30) years. or iii. but they shall be substantially these: 1. as follows: a. commencing on the date that the Franklin’s Trench Development is deemed safe for occupancy by at least 200 families by the relevant federal. LEED (environmental) Certification Incentives: i. Project Z shall . Project Z shall receive an additional incentive payment not to exceed $25 per family per month to operate the Franklin’s Trench Development. not to exceed the maximum allowed by HUD. 3. (“Project Z”). The City and HUD shall enter into an exclusive lease for the Franklin’s Trench Development. 2. c. documenting its low environmental impact.
2012. If such a violation results in serious bodily injury. above.12. All work done by Project Z will comply with applicable federal. shall constitute the only direct payments to Project Z for completion of this work. 2012. 6. state or local regulation. state and local regulations and building and construction codes. $30 million. b. above. Such use or sale shall be solely in Project Z’s discretion. including all Office of Construction Inspection and Safety (“OCIS”) codes. Upon completion of all structural work. If a violation of a federal. the property shall be owned by Project Z. by as much as 10%. 5. $15 million. On or after November 1. If such a violation results in death. $25 million. Project Z shall in no case be directly paid moneys other than those described in Paragraph 5. the City and HUD may cancel the contract. building or construction code is alleged. 2010 Jayne Bird Grode United States Department of Housing and Urban Development DATE . Upon completion of all additional work.receive an additional incentive payment not to exceed $100 per family per month to operate the Franklin’s Trench Development. 12 2010 November 12. At the conclusion of the lease described in Paragraph 3. a. b. and decorative work as provided in the contract. the penalty for that violation shall be as set forth in that code. ii. iii.2010 DATE DATE Sarah Kaufman City of Philadelphia Nov. at the City and HUD’s discretion. On or before October 31. Tatum Zillias obo Project Z Signature 11. c. the payments required by the contract may be reduced. On or before December 31. The payments described in Paragraph 5. 4. For its work in developing the Franklin’s Trench property. including all roofing: i. $5 million. including all plumbing. 7. Project Z will be paid as follows: a. 2011. which will control all future sale and/or uses of the property and any income therefrom. electrical.
5. identified herein by their nicknames. Project Z personnel may be overridden by any governmental official with such authority. Tatum Zillias Tatum Zillias President. 2012. Project Z contracts with ELS for the rental of two heavy-duty. b. Project Z will indemnify ELS and hold ELS harmless./operator. and c. ELS will provide certified operators sufficient to keep both Cranes in operation for ten hours per day. 4. 6. Project Z. (“Project Z”) and Estratton Lift Systems (“ELS”). Inc. 8. 3. 2. ELS may require Project Z to insure against damage to that cranes. ELS will comply with applicable federal. and Project Z shall call for uses of both Cranes as they are intended and within their safe tolerances. Project Z shall not ask ELS to use any lift system in an unsafe manner. high-lift construction cranes. the “Cranes”) for use at a construction site known as “Franklin’s Trench”. Project Z shall have final say over whether any lift shall occur. state and local regulations and construction codes. The term shall be July 1. contingent on execution of a final contract including the following terms: 1. and Project Z shall compensate ELS at a rate of $100/hr. for a total minimum rental of $1. Project Z may extend the term by up to two months by paying the monthly contract rate. because Fightin’ Phil was committed to another project. including all Office of Construction Inspection and Safety (“OCIS”) codes. 2011 – October 31. Project Z shall pay an additional $250. Should additional operators be required. plus an additional 25%. 7.000 to compensate ELS for the termination fee it will incur and the loss of business good will from that cancellation.3 million. Inc. The rental price shall be $100. except that: a.-----------------------------------------------------------------------TERM SHEET This term sheet is reached between Project Z. as described in Attachment A. In the event of death or serious bodily injury stemming from the operation of the Cranes in such a lift. Micah Estratton Authorized Representative Estratton Lift Systems . Fightin’ Phil and Lil’ Betsy (collectively. Should Project Z request a dangerous or otherwise complex or challenging lift with either crane. ELS will provide them. In addition.000/month.
Phil has a lift capacity that exceeds even the LTL-2600. making it the strongest. heaviest-lift crane of its kind east of the mighty Mississippi and north of the Mason-Dixon line. but you won’t find better. making Phil ideally suited to heavy lifts in an urban environment. highly experienced operators who have used Phil for years. ELS’ custom take on the classic Lampson LTL-2600 Trans Lift Crane.Attachment A Since 1988. Due to ELS’s proprietary engineering and mechanical improvements.000 ft. 500 ft. Not only does that increase lift capacity. (either Lampson 1100 or MEC27AB) 40. moving loads like no other. ELS provides trained. 240 ft. You just tell us where to be and when. 4 (in fixed position. ELS may not be the biggest or fanciest out there. the pride of Estratton Lift Systems has been Fightin’ Phil. Like the city where Phil was designed. and Phil can be there. Remember: while a regular LTL-2600 is mobile. anchored into the ground. you can request Phil in a fixed configuration. 4 if mobile) 3750 tons (fillable on site) 2-4 weeks Mobile Configuration Depicted None . As we do with all of our complex list systems. but it minimizes Phil’s footprint. Phil is fully inspected and retooled every few months and can be either trucked in or rebuilt on site. Technical/Engineering Specifications (Fixed Position): Type: Transporters: Height: Boom Length: Jib Length: Cable length: Operators: Counterweights: Assembly Time: Accident History: Modified Lampson Transi heavylift crane None (in fixed position) 467 ft. however.
Technical/Engineering Tolerances (Fixed Position): Lift Capacity (flat surface) (fixed position) (U. depending on season and long-term weather conditions and is performed by ELS at the direction of the Construction Site Supervisor or other authorized personnel. Fightin’ Phil should be inspected weekly (after approximately 40 hours of lifts). Maximum wind tolerances for convex or concave objects may be lower. “Maximum Wind Gust” is the maximum 3 -second wind speed forecast to occur within a 2-minute interval at a height of 10 meters (~32. Sustained winds are generally measured at a height of 10 meters (~32. The client is responsible for paying for the crane’s rental during these periods.8 feet).S. and a full disassembly and inspection is recommended every 16 to 20 weeks. Maximum engineering sustained wind lift capacity was calculated using flat surfaces in a lift configuration approved by the Association of Crane and Rigging Professionals and the American Society of Safety Engineers. Maximum engineering wind gust lift capacity was calculated using flat surfaces in a lift configuration approved by the Association of Crane and Rigging Professionals and the American Society of Safety Engineers. . Wind gusts may vary depending on lift height.8 feet). Winds may vary depending on lift height. Note Maximum threshold is set at 85% of tested failure rate Note: Regularly scheduled maintenance must be performed to ensure that Fightin’ Phil continues to operate at optimal performance levels and that metal fatigue does not occur. Tons) 0-2400 2400-2600 2600-2750 2750 maximum threshold 1 Statistical Key and Notes -----------Safe to operate ELS 2750 Proceed with caution Proceed with extreme caution DO NOT OPERATE (unless prior approval from municipality and/or ELS is obtained) Max Sustained Wind1 (mph) at Lift Capacity (fixed position)2 2 0-13 13-18 18-24 24 maximum threshold 3 Max Wind Gust3 (mph) at Lift Capacity (fixed position)4 0-20 20-25 25-30 30 maximum threshold 4 “Maximum Sustained Wind” is an average wind speed during a 2-minute interval.
Final Report re: August 31, 2012 Collapse of Crane “Fightin’ Phil” Prepared By: Quinn Baxter, Senior/Lead Investigator Location: Deaths: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (19 th Street, south of Pennsylvania Ave.) 2 (1 civilian, 1 government)
Responsible Officials: Tatum Zillias (developer); Emerson Turnkin (Project Manager); Micah Estratton (Crane Operator) Atmospheric Conditions: Collapse occurred on windy, rainy day with limited visibility. Winds were sustained at 10-17 mph at time of collapse, and may have gusted as high as 28 mph. All measurements taken at Philadelphia International Airport (approx. 7.5 miles from site). Executive Summary: The collapse of the crane “Fightin’ Phil” resulted from a shocking lack of regard for common sense, regulations, and proper construction procedures by Project Z. These violations included failing to properly seat the crane’s support pylons, lifting an amount in excess of the crane’s maximum capacity without state or local approval, and lifting during high winds. Factual Findings: Upon examination, crane “Fightin’ Phil” had collapsed completely. Preliminary findings consistent with cascading collapse of operator-left front side. Examination of northwestern support leg consistent with complete metal failure. Numerous other areas of crane show evidence of sheer or metal failure, consistent with cascading collapse. Examination of engine, hydraulics and drive gears was hampered by collapse of crane, which destroyed much of same. This damage could have caused or followed the collapse itself. Portions of hydraulics, engines, wiring and crane had been removed post-fall, before a complete investigation was possible, most likely by scrappers seeking to sell same.
Limitations: Time on site was limited due to weather. Light was fading when the site was declared safe for examination, and investigation was limited for ensuing two days by pouring rain, high winds, and lightning. By the time investigation could be restarted, substantial shifting of wreckage had occurred, and wreckage showed some signs of looting. Narrative: At 2:45 p.m., the second lift of the day commenced, despite the rains and gusting winds. The object being lifted, a piece of roof weighing some 2900 tons, was greater than 85% maximum tolerance for the crane. Wind was initially predicted to be at 5-17 mph sustained, gusting to 22 mph. However, at noon, that prediction was revised, and winds were expected to be 10-20 mph, with gusts to 23-26 mph. According to interviews with Tatum Zillias, s/he was unaware of this revision. According to Emerson Turnkin, Zillias was aware of it, but chose to proceed. At 3:15, the forecast was again amended to include a wind warning (sustained winds of 25 mph or greater). Site personnel had stopped checking the weather, and they were unaware of this revision. Immediately upon lifting, witnesses report that the roof panel began swinging on the crane line, indicating significant wind effects. Approximately twenty-five minutes into the lift, a halt was called. The crane did not fully stop moving, which is permitted only to compensate for load shift. Load shift was visible, indicating that wind effects were sustained or may have increased. At approximately 3:20, the crane operator began the apex portion of the lift. At approximately 3:25, as the lift neared its highest point, the roof being lifted cleared the tallest surrounding building. Shortly thereafter, winds gusted, and the roof began pitching and yawing to the left. The crane operator was able to compensate, and began to recover to a neutral position. Operator also reports a possible hydraulic failure resulting, reportedly, in the operator being unable to compensate as the wind pulled the load beyond its tolerable operating range. Witnesses report metallic noise, followed by sheer. At approximately 3:28, the operator-left (northern) side of the crane collapsed. Witnesses report loss of tension in crane lines and support buttress buckling, followed by collapse of operator-front-left (northwestern) support leg. Cascading collapse followed. Code Violations Observed at Site: 1. Access road was not properly graded or filled with asphalt, as required for the size of vehicles routinely transiting that space. 2. Tools were spread throughout the site. (12 minor violations (wrenches, hammers, screwdrivers) and 2 major violations (rotary tool on scaffold; loose axe).) 3. West Scaffold 3 was not properly secured. 4. North Scaffold 4 was not properly secured. 5. No records were kept of morning inspections on either of the cranes on site. 6. No records were kept of evening inspections for the north side crane. 7. Records of evening inspections for the building crane, “Fightin’ Phil,” are inadequate to show diligence in inspecting same. 8. Inadequately secured vehicles: i. Minor finding: key left in F-350 Truck, NJ license NYB72G. ii. Major finding: key left in north side crane.
9. No documentation of bi-hourly site sweeps. 10. No documentation of appropriate ratio of supervisors to workers. 11. Inadequate number of first aid kits. 12. Inadequate number of automatic defibrillators. 13. Seven (7) workers not wearing appropriate safety vests. 14. One (1) worker not wearing approved safety footwear. 15. One (1) inadequately labeled flammable liquid. 16. Two (2) spills of slippery liquid. 17. Inadequate signage: inadequate presence of “Hard Hat Area” warning signs. 18. Inadequate signage: inadequate presence of “Men Working Above” warning signs. 19. Gap in fence on south end of work area. 20. Ladder too steeply graded: north side. 21. Insecured pylons: density of concrete on northeast anchor for “Fightin’ Phil” less than manufacturer recommendation, visibly cracked from wear. 22. Insecured pylon: density of concrete on northwest anchor for “Fightin’ Phil” less than manufacturer recommendation. 23. Insecured pylon: density of concrete on southeast anchor for “Fightin’ Phil” less than manufacturer recommendation, visibly cracked from wear. Additional Contributing Factors Other Than Violations: 1. Three workers had worked over 70 hours per week in preceding month. While permissible, OCIS recommends workers in high fatigue environments not work more than 60 hours in three consecutive weeks without additional rest time. 2. Per interviews with Emerson Turnkin and others, management did not emphasize “safety culture” or on going beyond the requirements of the code to make work site safe. 3. Per interviews with Tatum Zillias, Emerson Turnkin and others, management dangerously rushed work in order to meet economic or political objectives, inevitably resulting in site conditions that posed clear risk to workers. 4. Management failed to carefully monitor the metal fatigue of work equipment. 5. Management failed to check weather reports throughout second lift. 6. The lift was performed outside the manufacturer tolerances for windage. 7. The lift was likely performed outside the manufacturer tolerances for lift weight. Conclusion: Management failed to ensure crane was properly maintained and workers were properly rested, then over-loaded the crane in an attempt to meet an artificial timetable. Management then attempted lift despite dangerous, unmonitored winds, failing to recognize the danger inherent in lifting a convex object under the circumstances. The consequences were both predictable and tragic: management’s failures caused the deaths of two individuals. /s/ Quinn Baxter, 9/22/2012 Senior/Lead Investigator
if any. Finding 3 is rejected. Finding 16 rejected.” do not show the expected level of precision for complete inspections. There is insufficient evidence of spills prior to the collapse. in the collapse is uncertain. Emerson Turnkin and others. Key should have been removed. Philadelphia Field Office . 10/5/2012 Director. Finding 7 is modified as follows: “Records of evening inspections for the building crane. “Fightin’ Phil. There is insufficient evidence that the scaffold was unsecured prior to the collapse. Contributing Factors 4 and 5 are modified by adding the following sentence: “The role of this failure. 2.” 4. Finding 2 is rejected. Findings 21-23 moved to “Additional Findings. 6. if any. 3. Interview indicates crane was abandoned during collapse.” /s/ Beatrice Hicks. but circumstances demand lenity. management rushed work in order to meet economic or political objectives.Supervisory Approval This report is approved. There is insufficient evidence that these tools were located in the places noted prior to the collapse.” The role of these pylons. with the following caveats: 1. 7. 5.” 8. Finding 8(ii) is mitigated to minor violation. Contributing Factor 3 is modified as follows: “Per interviews with Tatum Zillias. in the collapse cannot be determined.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Weather update Friday August 31 12am .
Weather update Friday August 31 12:05pm .
Weather update Friday August 31 3:15pm .
with the biggest crane on the East Coast about to lift the largest roof panel this city’s ever seen onto the product of that ego. where a guy down can’t get his broth er to spare a dime. shuttled off to make her/his case to the site’s domineering. but as soon as you start to lose. and street performers. tried to get a meeting with Tatum Zillias. until Tatum Zillias. Cut a century ago. For decades. it’s already a home. The story you find there is as disappointing and dispiriting as Cliff Lee’s run support. breathing people who have made Franklin’s Trench their own for the past forty years.” because it’s time to put on sunglasses and look behind the emerald curtain. but s/he was turned down cold. they were told that their home didn’t matter at all. and the meeting was little more than About Philly. was well known for derogatorily referring to the Trenchers as “Mole People” or “street scum”. solitary dollar! – without ever asking their opinion. that is. the ire of the masses descends upon you. and they recycle others’ garbage into art. Emerson.------------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 1/3 There’s a scar in this City of Brotherly Love. has been rarely discussed and always ignored. They refer to Franklin’s Trench as a blight. a developer. Emerson Turnkin. And just like one of our beloved sports teams in this City. their erstwhile leader. Harkening back to her/his impoverished beginnings. And in this City of Brotherly Love. Zillias’ vision of a Band-Aid is now clear for all to see. a veritable Harlem Re naissance in the Carnegie Hall of their subterranean homestead. Look inside Project Z’s glossy brochures and what you will see is nothing but airy landscaping and happy. they have welcomed all comers – no questions asked – since they first laid down their beds. veterans. theoretical residen ts. In all of Project Z’s propa ganda and the mayor’s press conferences. These “Trenchers” are artists. others’ trash into furniture. You can consider me Zillias’ latest “Philly fan. Zillias claimed the trench between 17th and 19th streets as her/his artistic rendering of Franklin’s Trench . from Broad and Market all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. by a railway line you won’t even find on a Monopoly board. and south of Spring Garden St. that someone had sold their land for a dollar – a single. And now. there isn’t a single mention of the living. commonly known as Franklin’s Trench. and it runs deep. Until. London Packard.com | Contact Us | Terms of Use & Privacy Statement . They live off things that others throw away. And so the Trenchers decided to take a stand.Courtesy of Project Z own and the future home of the downtrodden. when you are winning no one cares. one day. is a stark reminder of failed industrialism. Ignored. spun a vision so gleaming and golden that it captured the minds and imagination of politicians far and wide. this area of the City. Zillias’ plan forged a new way and a new means of meshing socioeconomically classes together into a scheme that made Section 8 look like the late ‘80s Phillies. who as far as this reporter could discover had never so much as visited the Trench community. heartless construction manager. the strip of depressed land just north of Callowhill St. But they don’t tell you.
About Philly. Even the shiny windowpanes of Franklin’s Trench’s façade could not deflect the light from shining down and seeing what was really going on beneath the surface. then. and with her/his back up against the wall. At Franklin’s Trench.6 injuries per 100 full-time Franklin’s Trench worksite injury . and ineffective. S/He blew the lid off of all safety protocols and procedures. by no small accident. at all construction sites in the United States in 2011 there were 5. a few months later. An OCIS spokesperson said that they were confident that the site was safe. in clear violation of OCIS regulations. added a second shift and. Arty Dent. seeking cover. This deadline. OCIS Senior Inspector Quinn Baxter said only that the site is constantly monitored. and clear as day.com | Contact Us | Terms of Use & Privacy Statement . Rumors even flew that OCIS itself was on Zillias’ payroll. And when London contemplated the simple. Baxter also stated that OCIS has no responsibility for protecting the Trench’s existing residents. and that there were fewer serious injuries there than the statistics showed. S/he would not even stop the construction activities long enough to let the Trenchers come or go from the main entrance to their home in the early morning and late evening. as the people who launched it: acts of graffiti and simple sabotage efforts which worked only momentarily. A friend at City Hall got me a copy of the contract. even a third shift. even with the big lifts coming up. Under the breakneck pace. I learned that the driving force behind Zillias’ cavalier attitude is a bonus that was offered by the City and HUD for getting the project done before October 31. right over the Trenchers’ home. to engage in what Arty called Operation Turtle. and that Zillias has everyone in her back pocket.7 injuries per 100.Credit: Reese Dentner construction workers. Apparently.com. letting work continue while they skittered around the site. And what was the result? The crane operator also told me that this construction site is the most dangerous one she had ever worked on. Zillias has bought off all of the union bosses to get them to ignore safety protocols and abuse the workers’ compensation system. Not when you might get a picture with the President out of it. that ratio is an astonishing 15. nearly three times the national average! And these are the people being trusted with lifting the largest roofing panels in the city’s history. who wished to remain nameless in this article but who was recently let go when she refused to go along with Zillias’ wishes. into place in the middle of a dense resid ential area. Then came Zillias. the site itself became an utter mess. runs right in line with the upcoming elections and clearly is as much a political move as much as it is a financial carrot. there it is. non-violent act of sitting in. Small wonder. 2012. this time was no different. So where is OCIS? When contacted officially by philly. Operation Turtle was as simple. From a former crane operator on the site. weighing millions of pounds each. and that the site has not had a single “red flag” sufficient to stop work there. So s/he went to war with the army s/he had: a peculiar but likeable vet. that Franklin’s Trench has had more reported injuries than any other construction site in Philadelphia over the past 50 years! According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. s/he faced certain arrest at the hands of Turn kin’s goons. And what about the City? What about the Mayor. or maybe another of the many “construction accidents” befalling her/him.Page 2/3 an excuse for Turnkin to unload her/his vitriol on them. or City Council? Who is standing up for the Trenchers? No one. Zillias’ history for cutting corners is as well-known throughout the construction industry.
and the Mayor is committed to green buildings like this one. Tatum Zillias is an easy villain for the Trenchers. where property owners could breathe easy.com | Contact Us | Terms of Use & Privacy Statement . knowing that they were safe in their beds from the tyrants at the door. As the mayor’s spokesman told me. The City is turning a blind eye. the workers are knowingly putting themselves at risk. They will be approved this week. the City asked for more information before it allowed the big lifts to proceed. the letter that Project Z received was just a request fo r paperwork. But it is ignoring veterans like Arty Dent. there are far too many to name who should all share the blame. but the truth is deeper than that. Can you blame him? Would you do any less to save your home? About Philly.” Then she said that she is confident that the lift s are safe. But according to this reporter’s sources inside City Hall. “Philadelphia is proud to be the home of such a path-breaking housing development. We used to be a country where the government respected its people. and it certainly will. But in reality. When something catastrophic happens at Franklin’s Trench.Page 3/3 Last week. someone will be the scapegoat. it was a moment of hope. who now openly talks about trying to take down the crane that is placing the lid on the coffin to his community. For London Packard. and even the federal government is providing absentee oversight.
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