Accused contractor asserts his innocence in fatal demolition trial
They lied. They were mistaken. They never said that to him. For five hours Thursday, demolition contractor Griffin Campbell sat in the witness box and tried to negate 11 days of witnesses who blamed him for the 2013 collapse that crushed the Salvation Army thrift store in Center City, killing six people and injuring 13.
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They lied. They were mistaken. They never said that to him.
For five hours Thursday, demolition contractor Griffin Campbell sat in the witness box and tried to negate 11 days of witnesses who blamed him for the 2013 collapse that crushed the Salvation Army thrift store in Center City, killing six people and injuring 13.
It was a varied list: federal job safety officers and city construction inspectors, several of Campbell's own employees, the excavator operator he hired, and, most of all, the architect Campbell said gave him the biggest job of his career and directed his every move on the demolition site.
By turns combative and plaintive, the 51-year-old Hunting Park contractor turned frequently to face the eight women and four men on the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court jury.
"If I thought at any time, at any point, that someone was going to get hurt, I would have shoveled horse manure to feed my family before I would put anyone in danger," Campbell responded to a question from his lawyer, William D. Hobson.
Campbell insisted that the collapse of an unsupported wall remaining from the four-story building he was demolishing at 2136-38 Market St. was a horrible accident, not the result of a reckless disregard for safety.
Whether he succeeded in convincing jurors that he is not guilty of six counts of third-degree murder, 12 counts of reckless endangerment, and one count of aggravated assault could become clear later Friday.
Hobson completed the defense case Thursday, and Assistant District Attorneys Jennifer Selber and Edward Cameron said they would call a final rebuttal witness Friday morning.
Afterward, Judge Glenn B. Bronson told the jurors, they will hear the lawyers' closing arguments, his instructions on the law, and begin deliberating.
If the jury finds Campbell guilty of more than one count of third-degree murder, he faces a mandatory life prison sentence without parole. The jury could find Campbell guilty of the less serious charge of involuntary manslaughter. But, given his age and the number of counts, he could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted of the lesser charge.
Campbell underwent about two hours of rigorous cross-examination Thursday by prosecutor Cameron, who continually asked him why the excavator operator he hired, Sean Benschop, and Plato A. Marinakos Jr., the demolition architect, would lie when they testified they warned him the unsupported brick wall posed a hazard.
Campbell would repeat that they never told him that, or give answers that did not respond to the prosecutor's question.
Cameron, for example, asked Campbell about Benschop's earlier testimony that he told Campbell to get a high-reach platform or aerial lift to take down the wall.
"As I testified, there was no need for an aerial lift," Campbell testily replied.
When Cameron objected and reminded Campbell that the question was whether Benschop recommended using an aerial lift, the witness snapped:
"I don't know procedure here, but I'm not going to just allow you to make me talk about that - I'm not saying what I'm supposed to say," Campbell said.
That led to another warning from the judge to answer questions, not argue with lawyers.
Although witnesses testified that Campbell had boasted he had 10 years of demolition experience, Campbell downplayed his construction knowledge.
Campbell said the Market Street demolition project - five buildings in the 2100 and 2200 blocks of Market - was only his second demolition job; his first was a three-story house.
Campbell said he never read the contract written for him by Marinakos, the architect hired by property owner Richard Basciano to oversee demolition prior to construction of an apartment-retail complex.
He testified that he did not know what a demolition safety plan was or the safest way to take down the four-story Hoagie City building and that he depended on Marinakos to tell him what to do next.
Campbell is the only person to face trial on criminal charges in the collapse.
Benschop, 44, of North Philadelphia, was charged along with Campbell but in July pleaded guilty to six counts of involuntary manslaughter, 12 counts of reckless endangerment, one count of aggravated assault, and related offenses in a deal with prosecutors for no more than 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors granted Marinakos immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony to a grand jury and against Campbell at trial.
Although Hobson has argued that Campbell has been made a scapegoat for Basciano, Marinakos, and others, prosecutors allege that Campbell's contract with Basciano - and construction-industry practice - gave him sole responsibility for deciding the "means and methods" of taking down the Hoagie City building and protecting public safety and adjacent properties.
Prosecutors allege that Campbell focused on profit and maximizing salvage value of material from a four-story building at 2136-38 Market St.
Campbell allegedly had workers remove aged wood floors, beams, and joists from inside the former Hoagie City building, leaving outer brick walls unbraced.
"When did you first hear about 'means and methods'?" Hobson asked his client.
"At this trial," replied Campbell.
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