Illinois Worker Pleads Guilty For Covering Up Safety Violations
Last month a Moline, IL man has pled guilty to federal obstruction and making false statement charges for trying to cover up safety violations during a fatal 2007 roofing accident in Rock Island.Stephen F. Vyncke, 50, entered the plea Thursday May 21st in U.S. District Court, Peoria, Ill., and is to be sentenced Oct. 15. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Vyncke’s co-worker, Walter L. “Boe” Whipple, 36, of Carbon Cliff, Ill., died Oct. 10, 2007, after falling 16 feet while working on the roof of a building at 513 31st Ave., Rock Island.
Prosecutors said Vyncke put up safety fall protection after Whipple’s death and lied to investigators by saying the equipment was in place at the time of Whipple’s fall. Both men were employed by Winter’s Architectural Roofing Co. of Carbon Cliff, court records state. The company also faces eight citations for alleged safety and health violations and a $224,000 fine from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
To read more in the Quad City Times got to http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/article_9831dbe6-46fc-11de-8b26-001cc4c002e0.html.
