Former Testwell Laboratories Inc. engineer Edward Porter made no comment Monday as his case was conditionally discharged, meaning it will be closed without a prison sentence or probation if he pays modest court costs. He already paid $100,000 as a forfeiture in the case.
Porter, a 75-year-old Russian immigrant, pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy, acknowledging he knew or should have known that required strength tests hadn't been done when he formulated concrete mixes.
Porter isn't expected to testify when Testwell President V. Reddy Kancharla and five other executives and employees go on trial on charges including enterprise corruption. The trial is to start Nov. 16. Six other Testwell employees also have pleaded not guilty to charges including scheming to defraud.
Enterprise corruption, the most serious charge, is punishable by up to 25 years in prison.
Prosecutors say the Ossining-based company concocted test results for such major projects as the stadium, the Second Avenue subway line, a new terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport and the Freedom Tower - the World Trade Center's new centerpiece. The company also produced phony steel tests and overcharged for work it never did, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's office.
In all, the year-old indictment involves 102 projects in and around New York City, ranging from hospitals to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
A lawyer for Kancharla and the company didn't immediately return a call Monday, but the defendants have strongly denied the allegations.
The Testwell case and similar charges against Stallone Testing Labs Inc. and its lab director - who also denies them - raised questions about the durability of scores of projects. The city Buildings Department has ordered 82 projects retested but says no safety concerns have been found so far.
The cases also prompted wider scrutiny of concrete testing, including spot checks in laboratories and on construction sites. More than 80 checks have been done since August, Buildings Department spokesman Tony Sclafani said.
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