NEW YORK — A plumber who worked at the East Village building where two people died in an explosion last month admitted to illegally tapping a gas line.
NY Post reported that the unidentified plumber confessed to rigging a gas-supply system, but said the landlord’s son ordered him to do it.
The March 26 explosion ignited a massive fire that destroyed the five-story building and two others. Two bodies were pulled from the rubble and identified as Nicholas Figueroa, 23, who was on a date at the ground-floor restaurant and busboy Moises Locon, 27.
Investigators suspect an illegal hookup in the building was removed from a gas line ahead of a Con Ed inspection on the day of the explosion, and then reinstalled before the blast about 30 minutes later, according to the report.
The building’s landlord has been identified as Maria Hrynenko. Her son was at the building before the explosion and was hurt in the blast.
A lawyer, who spoke on behalf of Hrynenko, declined to comment Sunday. Sources have said she is also under investigation, according to the report.
Anyone suspected of causing the blast could face charges including second-degree manslaughter and reckless endangerment.