On Nov. 20, 2014, John W. Miles III, died following a fall through a skylight during a roofing job in Jacksonville, Fla.
Pinnacle Roofing Contractors Inc., a company who previously had been cited by OSHA for fall safety hazards, received two willful and two serious violations. The agency also named Pinnacle a Severe Violator and proposed $154,000 in fines.
"While some skylights on the warehouse roof had safeguards installed, workers were not protected from fall hazards sufficiently. If Pinnacle Roofing had been more diligent, John Miles would be with us today," said Brian Sturtecky, OSHA's area director in Jacksonville previously said.
Now, a man had been accused of lying to OSHA investigators about the accident.
As of Wed. April 19, the Department of Justice has indicted Peter Nees, a 49-year-old Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. resident and Pinnacle senior project manager, for false statements to OSHA investigators.
Nees claims he did not alter the scene of the accident in any way after the accident occurred. The DOJ, however, says he made “false, fictitious and fraudulent material statements and representations.”
If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison..
An indictment is a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.