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Three supervisors who ignored safety protocols could wind up in prison

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Three supervisors just found out the potentially high cost of cutting corners on crew member safety: four years in the slammer.

That’s the potential fate of three managers with D’Arcy & Harty Construction who were each just slapped with an involuntary manslaughter charge for their roles in the September 2023 death of an employee at a worksite in San Francisco, CA.

The San Francisco district attorney filed the charges against John D’Arcy, 62, site safety representative, John Tobin, 39, project manager, and Filiberto Perez, 52, foreman, following the death of Javier Romero, 25.

Prosecutors said the supervisors allowed Romero to enter an eight-foot-deep unshored trench because it would’ve taken too long and cost too much to implement safety protocols. The cost-cutting proved deadly when a large truck drove past the worksite and caused the walls of the excavation to collapse on Romero. He was buried for 90 minutes under 5,000 pounds of pressure.

Note: Each involuntary manslaughter charge carries a maximum penalty of four years in jail.

(From the October 26, 2026, issue of Safety Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click here.)