Jason Williams' office is running out of time to bring indictments in the Hard Rock hotel collapse. It's been hard to know which party in particular has been dragging their feet the most these past few years. Right now, Williams says the problem is OSHA.
NEW ORLEANS — The federal workplace safety agency, OSHA, is refusing to cooperate with a grand jury probe of the deadly 2019 Hard Rock Hotel collapse until it resolves a long-delayed civil dispute with the building’s lead engineer, a target of that criminal investigation.
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams subpoenaed OSHA’s Hard Rock investigation file more than two years ago
Williams said the federal agency’s refusal to produce the records as ordered by a judge now seriously hampers the criminal negligence case his prosecutors are presenting to the grand jury, with just two weeks left for it to return an indictment before a four-year deadline.
Williams said the lack of cooperation from OSHA is forcing him and his prosecutors to “fight with one hand tied behind our backs” as they present their case to the grand jury.
“It’s akin to enabling or covering up criminal activity because the clock is ticking. We only have a few more days before the clock runs out on this,” Williams said in an exclusive interview with WWL-TV. “If you had told me this would happen, I would tell you that you're a liar.”
Is it really that hard to believe, though? To some of us, it feels like the only possible thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment