Moscow, Pa., Excavation Firm Faced Reduced Fine for Trench Collapse. - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

By Steven A. Morelli, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Jan. 3-- WILKES-BARRE, Pa.--The excavation company cited in a fatal trench collapse has reached an agreement with the federal government to reduce the company's fine from $113,00 to $70,000, the company's lawyer said.

James T. O'Hara Inc. of Moscow will pay the fine over two years to satisfy eight serious citations from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said O'Hara's lawyer, Bruce Phillips of Philadelphia.

OSHA spokeswoman Leni Fortson said the case is still officially open and would not comment.

Andrew Hedesh, OSHA area director, said representatives from the federal government and O'Hara met Nov. 29 for a formal settlement discussion, but he would not say what resulted from the meeting.

OSHA does not consider a case closed until an administrative judge rules on it and a 30-day appeals period elapses. It is unclear when an administrative judge will receive the agreement.

If the agreement is approved by the administrative judge and is not appealed, it will be the last official charge against the company stemming from the Feb. 16 trench collapse that killed Joel Connors, 31, of Pottsville. Connors was working in a trench on a sewage line project at Gilligan and Spruce streets in Wilkes-Barre.

Last week, O'Hara Inc. was cleared of other citations and $97,000 in fines the city lodged after the accident. In that decision, Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Patrick Toole said the city's codes did not cover excavation work.

The company also has no lawsuit pending against it in the accident, Phillips said. Workers compensation insurance law protects companies from some lawsuits.

After the incident, federal inspectors said the walls of the 20-foot trench were not properly supported. When OSHA cited O'Hara Inc. in August, Hedesh said the company showed 'blatant disregard' for its employees.

When OSHA cited the company, Connors' brother, Rodney Connors, said the next step should be criminal charges. Connors' lawyer, James Riley of Pottsville, has said he also asked District Attorney David Lupas to consider filing an involuntary manslaughter charge.

Riley was not available Wednesday for comment.

Lupas this week said investigators are still looking into the case.

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(c) 2002, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.