NY judge sets aside verdict in case of building manager accused of causing firefighter deaths
By APTuesday, February 23, 2010
NY judge sets aside verdict in firefighter deaths
NEW YORK — A judge has overturned the conviction of an apartment building manager found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment in connection with the death of two firefighters.
Bronx state Supreme Court judge Margaret Clancy ruled Tuesday there was not sufficient evidence to convict Cesar Rios.
Rios had been convicted for allowing tenants to construct illegal walls that hindered firefighters trying to flee a smoky fire.
Six firefighters were trapped in the building during the January 2005 fire. Two of them died after jumping from a fourth-floor window.
The ruling means that no person or company will be held criminally responsible for the deaths. A separate jury acquitted two tenants of similar charges.
