Contractor at heart of accident that killed six faces massive jail term.
A Philadelphia contractor was sentenced on Friday to 15 years to 30 years in prison for his role in a 2013 building demolition that caused an adjacent store to collapse, killing six people, according to prosecutors.
Griffin Campbell, 51, was convicted at a Philadephia trial in October 2014 of involuntary manslaughter and other charges.
The only other person to face criminal charges stemming from the incident at a century-old four-story vacant building in Philadelphia, excavator operator Sean Benschop, 44, was also sentenced to 7-1/2 to 15 years in prison on Friday.
Benschop, who tested positive for marijuana following the collapse, pleaded guilty last year to six counts of involuntary manslaughter and other charges as part of a plea deal limiting his prison term to no more than 20 years. He also testified at Campbell’s trial for the prosecution.
Prosecutors said Campbell recklessly cut corners during the demolition, which sent a brick wall from the building crashing down on a Salvation Army thrift store next door, killing two employees and four customers.
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