In a world seemingly bereft of consequences for all but the lower classes, the removal of an "illegally rigged gas supply" before a ConEd visit, appears to have been the cause of the deadly explosion in New York's East Village last week. A plumber who worked at the building has allegedly, according to NY Post, [3] admitted to illegally tapping into a gas line there - saying that the landlord’s son ordered him to do it (who, perhaps karmically, was hurt in the blast).
A plumber who worked at the East Village building where two people died in an explosion last month has admitted to illegally tapping into a gas line there — but said the landlord’s son ordered him to do it, The Post has learned.
The unidentified tradesman confessed to rigging a gas-supply system for apartments at 121 Second Ave. but blamed it on his boss to “deflect” any fault from himself, law enforcement sources said.
Authorities haven’t decided whether to cut a deal with the worker in exchange for his testimony or use his statement against him, one source said.
The official investigation is still in its preliminary stage, with probers trying to recover evidence from the rubble, sources added.
Investigators suspect an illegal hookup in the building was removed from a gas line ahead of a Con Ed inspection on the day of the explosion, then reinstalled before the devastating blast about 30 minutes later.
The building’s landlord has been identified as Maria Hrynenko, who inherited it and several others from her late husband, Michael Sr. The husband ran the East Village’s iconic 24-hour Kiev diner before his death in 2004.
Authorities have said the couple’s son, Michael Jr., 29, was at the building before the explosion, along with general contractor Dilber Kukic of The Bronx.
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Michael Hrynenko Jr., also called “Mischou,”...
[4]
...was hurt in the blast and carried to safety by Kukic.
