Manslaughter Conviction in Death of Milpitas Construction Worker

A jury convicted the owner and project manager of a Fremont construction company of manslaughter this morning in the 2012 death of a carpenter killed in the collapse of a retaining wall at a Milpitas construction site, according to prosecutors.

Richard Liu, 53, and Dan Luo, 36, both Fremont residents, were convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the Jan. 25, 2012 death of Raul Zapata Mercado, 39.

Luo, the project manager and the highest-ranking employee on the site, was also convicted of three additional felony labor code violations for willfully violating a safety order and causing the death of an employee, according to Deputy District Attorney Bud Porter.

Zapata was working on the construction of a 5,800 square foot home at 814 Calaveras Ridge Drive in Milpitas when a retaining wall collapsed on him.

A city inspector had issued a “stop work” order to Luo three days earlier following heavy rain due to unsupported retaining walls and excavations on the site, but Luo did not stop work or tell the employees about the order, Porter said.

Officials with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health said after Zapata’s death that Liu’s contracting firm, U.S. Sino Investments Inc., did not have state permits needed for excavations five feet or deeper or proper reinforcements in the trench that collapsed on the carpenter, which was at least 13 feet deep.

The state agency issued 14 citations totaling $168,175 against the company in June of 2012.

While there is no direct evidence that Liu, who was in China at the time of the accident, knew about the stop work order, he was generally kept informed about every decision on the project, Porter said.

Porter said that the construction project was behind schedule and over budget, and Luo and Liu were hurrying to complete work before the property owner’s next visit.

After a licensed subcontractor walked off the job due to nonpayment, the two had hired unlicensed day laborers, including Zapata, to complete the work.

Zapata, a resident of Zacatecas, Mexico, was married with three children. A farmer, he traveled between his home in Mexico and the Hayward area to work and earn money for his family, Porter said.

“These men, the workers were treated like their lives didn’t matter, but they did matter,” Porter said. “All their lives were put at risk and one of their lives were extinguished due to their total disregard for human life and for safety in the workplace.”

Liu and Luo were indicted by a grand jury in July, although Liu, who was in China, did not surrender until November.

Both remain out of custody on bail.

Both Liu and Luo are facing up to four years in state prison. Sentencing has been scheduled for July 17 in Department 16 of Santa Clara County Superior Court at 10 a.m.

The Contractors State License Board suspended the contract license of U.S. Sino Investment Inc. in February of 2012 for failure to comply with state workers’ compensation insurance laws. The company was also charged in the original indictment but Porter said prosecutors severed the case so that Liu and Luo could be tried separately.

--Bay City News; Image via Patch Archive

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