The master plumber charged with supplying his license to an unqualified worker in the deadly Lower East Side gas explosion last year signed off on 19 other jobs that violated regulations, and in some of those cases endangered the public, a judge has ruled.
Andrew Trombettas “was negligent, incompetent, or lacked knowledge of or disregarded relevant laws; made material false or misleading statements on documents [and] endangered public safety and welfare,” Administrative Law Judge Astrid Gloade wrote in calling for his license to be yanked.
The judge’s decision was issued after the Buildings Department reviewed Trombettas’ work following the explosion at the Sushi Park restaurant at Second Avenue and East Seventh Street on March 26.
Restaurant patron Nicholas Figueroa, 23, and worker Moises Lucon, 26, were found dead in the rubble days after the blast.
Building inspectors eyeballed gas-line and boiler jobs Trombettas or his companies, S.K. Piping and Beta Plumbing, signed off on in Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens.
In one job, at 2126 Eighth Ave., gas pipes were installed in a shaft that lacked ventilation.
“If there was a gas leak, the gas would have nowhere to go to disperse and could cause an explosion,” one inspector warned, according to the 45-page Jan. 29 report by Gloade.
Gas lines were also installed in an unventilated shaft at 223 W. 115th St., authorities charged.
At 3605 East Tremont Ave. in The Bronx, Trombettas, 57, signed off on a job in which gas piping was installed in the staircase of a restaurant, which is prohibited because if there’s a fire, “there would be no means of escape,” an inspector said.
The judge ripped Trombettas’ testimony during a four-day hearing.
“Respondents’ testimony throughout this proceeding was deliberately vague or forgetful, inconsistent, self-serving and largely not credible,” she wrote.
Many of the violations went undetected by city inspectors because the law allows “master plumbers” to “self-certify” certain jobs.
The Buildings Department audited about 400 jobs where Trombettas obtained permits and issued 82 violations — including multiple violations in many cases. The judge upheld most of the violations and concluded that Trombettas’ license should be revoked.
Trombettas’ lawyer, Ralph Casella, declined to comment Tuesday morning.
