The feds slammed Staten Island Ferry Capt. Michael Gansas yesterday for not cooperating with investigators looking into last month’s deadly crash, calling his excuse “flimsy” and having “no legitimate medical basis.”
Gansas’ lawyers claim he’s suffering from “acute stress disorder” and speaking to National Transportation Safety Board probers would “exacerbate and prolong” his condition.
The Brooklyn U.S. attorney’s office argued that his lawyers failed to show when he started treatment for the disease and did not specify his symptoms.
Investigators are trying to determine whether Gansas was in the pilothouse – as required by city regulations – when the ill-fated boat, the Andrew J. Barberi, crashed Oct. 15 near Staten Island’s St. George Terminal, killing 10 people and injuring 72.
Assistant Capt. Richard Smith, who was at the controls at the time of the disaster, attempted suicide and is hospitalized.
Gansas has been subpoenaed to appear before a federal judge to explain why he can’t meet with investigators. But he has already said he will not show up in court.
“It is difficult to imagine that the stress of being interviewed for Captain Gansas, who suffered no physical injury from the impact whatsoever, is so extraordinary that his compliance with the subpoena should be excused indefinitely,” the federal court papers said.
Gansas’ lawyers did not return calls for comment.
Rep. Vito Fossella (R-S.I.) charged that city officials and the Justice Department pressured Congress into disinviting key witnesses from testifying at a hearing today at Staten Island.
Two are cops and one is Robert Rush, a mate on the ferry who told probers he did not see Gansas in the pilothouse.
“This stinks! It is unconscionable that the city suspended Mr. Rush last week for not testifying, and today is pressuring Congress to prevent him from telling the public the truth about what happened aboard the ferry,” Fossella said.
Rush’s lawyer, Michael Chalos, said his client’s invitation to testify was withdrawn.
“My client has spoken to the NTSB and the city about what happened,” he said.
Additional reporting by Brad Hamilton and Stephanie Gaskell