NATION : Careless Electrician Gets 5 Yrs.
An electrician convicted of doing faulty work that caused a fatal fire was sentenced today to five years in prison in what was described as the first case of its kind in the nation.
Electrician Richard E. Salz, 49, was convicted of second-degree manslaughter. But before being sentenced, he told Superior Court Judge Joseph T. Gormley Jr. that he had done nothing wrong.
In June, a Superior Court jury convicted Salz of second-degree manslaughter in the death of 12-year-old Burton Gorman III, who died of smoke inhalation in a 1988 house fire in East Haven.
Salz’s faulty installation of a heating unit in the basement of the home of Burton H. and Louise Gorman, the victim’s grandparents, caused the fire, investigators said.
Besides failing to get a permit for the work, Salz ignored the manufacturer’s instructions for installing the heater and committed more than a dozen electrical-code violations, authorities said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
