Manslaughter charges are expected against the rigger who was in charge of overseeing the tower crane that collapsed, killing seven people, on the east side of Manhattan last March, according to a report in the New York Times.

The indictment represents the first criminal charges stemming directly from a rash of fatal accidents involving cranes last year.

Rigger William Rapetti, 48, has been charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment and second-degree assault as a result of the deadly disaster. Rapetti turned himself in to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office on Monday morning. Rapetti’s company, Rapetti Rigging Services, is also expected to be charged.

“In ongoing dialogue with the Manhattan DA and investigators, Mr. Rapetti has agreed to offer his full assistance and expertise in helping to determine the actual cause or causes of the crane collapse that day,” said Rapetti’s lawyer Arthur L. Aidala in a written statement.

The charges, including seven counts each of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, are contained in an indictment that is expected to be unsealed on Monday, according to the Times.

Seven people were killed when the 22-story crane collapsed on 51st street on March 15, 2008. It was the first of two deadly tower crane collapses in Manhattan.

The second crane collapse, on East 91st Street on May 31, remains under investigation by the Rackets Bureau in District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau’s office. Two construction workers were killed and about two dozen people were injured.

(Source: WNBC)