City Council Probes Incident As Sean Benschop Faces

Charges
PHILADELPHIA -- The city's top prosecutor announced a grand jury was being convened to
investigate a building collapse that killed six people and injured 13 others, including a woman who
on Monday described hearing the sound of falling bricks moments before the walls came crashing
down around her.
District Attorney Seth Williams said the scope and depth of the grand jury process will help
prosecutors, the city and others to "completely and appropriately investigate" what happened when
a downtown building under demolition collapsed onto a neighboring Salvation Army Thrift Store,
killing two employees and four customers.
"I know Philadelphians demand action. I heard their voices loud and clear," Williams said at
Monday's news conference. "We want Philadelphians to be patient as we gather all the evidence."
Meanwhile, police detectives on Monday visited the north Philadelphia home of general contractor
Griffin Campbell, who had been hired to demolish the four-story building that collapsed. A handful of
investigators emerged from the home about 45 minutes later, carrying a box. Police and prosecutors
earlier declined to comment on reports of a search of the home.
Campbell's attorney issued a statement defending his record and the qualifications of an excavator
operator charged in the case, urging that there be no "rush to judgment."
Attorney Kenneth Edelin said in a statement that Campbell was "confident that the results of the
investigation will reveal that professional and safety-conscious business practices were in place." He
said he believes his client will be cleared of responsibility for the tragedy.
Edelin said Campbell has more than 20 years in the construction business and four years in
demolition and earlier successfully demolished several nearby buildings. He said excavator operator
Sean Benschop was hired because of his "extensive experience" in demolition.
But he said Campbell never instructed the excavator to be used for the demolition that day. Because
the company didn't have access to the thrift store roof, he said, "the demolition of the wall closest to
the thrift store was being done brick by brick."
Edelin said federal and city inspectors and inspectors on behalf of the thrift store visited the site
after demolition began "and gave the site a clean bill of health."
Benschop surrendered Saturday to face six counts of involuntary manslaughter, 13 counts of
reckless endangerment and one count of risking a catastrophe. He is the only person charged in the
collapse and is being held without bail pending a hearing June 26. His attorney said the building
collapse was an accident and his client is not responsible.
At least six survivors have filed lawsuits against the contractor and the building's owner. One of
them, Felicia Hill, said Monday that she heard bricks falling and looked at another co-worker just
moments before the ceiling collapsed with the weight of bricks and debris.
"And then the wall came down, and I didn't see her anymore," Hill said of Kimberly Finnegan, who
was killed on her first day of work at the thrift store.
After the collapse, Hill heard another co-worker calling, "Somebody, help me, please. Somebody
help."
Attorney Robert Mongeluzzi, representing Hill and five other survivors, said Hill is emotionally
scarred but lucky.
"There were six people that weren't so lucky," he added.
Williams said the grand jury likely will "investigate the myriad municipal agencies and departments,
and policies and protocols, surrounding the collapse."
Also Monday, the City Council announced the formation of a special committee to conduct a broad
review of procedures and regulations regarding licenses and permits, construction and demolition,
the certification of workers, building maintenance and other issues.
Unsafe construction work is a common issue in Philadelphia, and "unfortunately, it took such a
tragic event for us to finally do something about it," Council President Darrell L. Clarke said.
Councilman Jim Kenney, who is the chair of the labor and civil service committee, said safety
standards are sometimes not met for the sake of costs.
"There is an underground economy
that's grown up as a result of the issue
relative to the cost of construction,"
Kenney said. "The cost of the
construction should not trump safety."
Kenney also said there needs to be
better coordination between the
building inspectors and the revenue
department, which could help "track
down these unscrupulous and
unlicensed and non-tax-paying entities."
Since the June 3 collapse, officials have
begun inspecting hundreds of
demolition sites citywide. Mayor Michael Nutter said Friday that the city was preparing to
implement sweeping changes in its regulations of building demolition.
A demolition permit indicates that contractor Griffin Campbell was being paid $10,000 for the job.
Building owner Richard Basciano's attorney declined to comment.
Memorial services began over the weekend for some of the victims, who included a student at the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, a retired secretary and a Liberian immigrant and longtime
store employee.
A woman pulled from the rubble more than 12 hours after the collapse was upgraded Monday from
critical to serious condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. One other victim remained hospitalized.
The 11 other survivors are all out of the hospital.
___
Associated Press writer Ron Todt in Philadelphia also contributed to this story.
Related on HuffPost:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/10/philadelphia-building-collapse-sean-benschop_n_3414640
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