Manager who overrode safety feature to spend six months in a jail cell

One supervisor just learned the hard way that it’s never a good idea to operate a hazardous piece of equipment that has been removed from service.

Anthony Valente, a manager at the R.J. Valente Grafton quarry in Cropseyville, NY, has been sentenced to six months in prison and five years of probation for his role in the October 2022 death of employee Darren Miller.

Valente had ordered Miller to help him lower a heavy load into the bed of a truck. Even though the crane he wanted to use for the job had been marked “out of service,” Valente overrode the equipment’s safety features and used the crane. His decision proved tragic when the crane’s overhaul hook ball detached and landed on Miller. The 35-year-old man was crushed to death.

(From the May 6, 2024, issue of Safety Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click here.)