NEW YORK, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- The city of New York will not be criminally charged in the deaths last year of two firefighters responding to a blaze at the Deutsche Bank, sources say.
District Attorney Robert Morgenthau plans to seek manslaughter charges against an allegedly mob-tied subcontractor, John Galt Corp., as well as corruption charges against 14 individuals hired to demolish "the Toxic Tower," the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.
Morganthau's reported initial desire to criminally charge the city itself was probably doomed to failure, a law enforcement source told the newspaper.
"The problem with indicting anyone in the city is that the city itself has sovereign immunity," the source said, meaning prosecutors would have to prove a city employee's actions directly caused the deaths.
Rather than attempt to bring criminal charges, Morgenthau is reportedly negotiating with the city of New York to publicly admit some degree of guilt in the August 2007 Deutsche Bank fire, possibly including admitting the Fire Department did not inspect the building every 15 days as required, the Daily News said.
