Placentia Firm Officials Admit Guilt in Worker’s Death : Courts: Demolition company owner, his brother and a supervisor will face 90-day terms in L.A. County Jail for involuntary manslaughter in Torrance roof collapse.

An Orange County demolition firm owner, his brother and a company supervisor have pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges stemming from a Torrance roof collapse that killed one worker.

In return for their guilty pleas, additional labor code violations were dropped against Robert De Fazio, president of Radco Concrete Sawing and Breaking Inc., company supervisor Jeffrey De Fazio and site supervisor Mario Aroz, Deputy Dist. Atty. Fred Macksoud said.

Under the plea agreement, the three men agreed to 90-day County Jail terms to be imposed when they appear in Los Angeles Superior Court on Sept. 16 for sentencing. In addition, Placentia-based Radco will be ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, Macksoud said.

Criminal charges were filed against the company and the three men following a yearlong investigation of a June 9, 1991, roof collapse at the former National Lumber & Supply store in the 25400 block of Crenshaw Boulevard.

Six workers were demolishing portions of the store’s roof when a heavy electrical panel they were moving across the roof fell through a portion of the structure to the concrete floor 20 feet below.

Two workers scampered to safety as the roof collapsed, but four fell through the hole. Miguel Arzate, 22, of Los Angeles died of massive injuries in the accident. Rigoberto Sierra, 42, also of Los Angeles, suffered a broken pelvis. The two other men who fell were not seriously hurt, Macksoud said.

Radco officials have contended that the workers were not supposed to be at the building on a Sunday and that they broke a lock on the door to get in. The officials agreed to plead guilty, their attorney said, because they could not afford further legal fees.

As company president, Robert De Fazio “was faced with paying three attorneys and an investigator and . . . an expert witness,” attorney Richard Gutierrez said. “It got to the point where the bills were just insurmountable. He was looking at spending over $100,000.”

If convicted at trial, the men also would have been facing from two to four years in state prison, Gutierrez said.

“They’re good people. Their records are all impeccable,” he said. “This has put a tremendous strain on them, on their families, on their business. . . . They just wanted to put this to rest.”

Despite the settlement of the criminal charges, Radco and Robert De Fazio still face several safety violations filed by the state Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

Four of those violations are ranked “serious,” Macksoud said, including allegations that Radco failed to properly survey the job site for hazards, failure to properly supervise employees and failed to provide proper safety equipment and guard rails to protect workers.

Radco has appealed the violations, but if fines on all charges are upheld, the company could owe as much as $9,630, Macksoud said.