Quincy man accused of lying about job site safety record released without bail

WCVB and Patriot Ledger staff
·2 min read

BOSTON – A construction company owner from Quincy was released without bail Wednesday after he was charged with lying about his company's safety record before two men died at a Boston job site earlier this year.

Laurence Moloney, 57, of Quincy, pleaded not guilty to perjury in Suffolk Superior Court on Wednesday.

Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins says Moloney and an employee – 35-year-old Konstantino Kollias, of Newton – lied about the safety record of the company Moloney owns, Atlantic Coast Utilities.

Moloney is due back in court Jan. 19.

Rollins announced Tuesday that a grand jury returned perjury indictments in connection with the investigation into the deaths of 27-year-old Jordan Romero and 33-year-old Juan Carlos Figueroa Gutierrez, who died after a dump truck hit them and pushed them into a 9-foot-deep trench. The district attorney previously determined that the driver of the dump truck was not criminally liable for the men's deaths.

Juan Carlos Gutierrez, left, and Jordan Romero were killed in a construction accident at 190 High St. in Boston’s Financial District on Feb. 24, 2021.
Juan Carlos Gutierrez, left, and Jordan Romero were killed in a construction accident at 190 High St. in Boston’s Financial District on Feb. 24, 2021.

Moloney and Kollias had submitted a total of four Mattocks-Higgins Affidavits of Workplace Safety to the City of Boston in connection with the High Street project. Their affidavits said the company had no prior Occupational Safety and Health Administration violations. The district attorney's office, however, said OSHA had issued the company citations on Sept. 8, 2016, and again on June 3, 2019.

"City records indicate that Mr. Moloney allegedly submitted the falsified affidavits on Atlantic Coast Utilities’ behalf on March 20, 2019, August 6, 2019, and December 1, 2020. Mr. Kollias is accused of submitting a falsified affidavit for the company on October 7, 2019," Rollins' office wrote.

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After the deaths of Romero and Gutierrez, OSHA issued several violations against Atlantic Coast Utilities. Chief among the alleged violations was the company's refusal to train Romero, Gutierrez and other workers to recognize and avoid work-related hazards.

The agency also found the company failed to conduct worksite inspections to identify and correct hazards, including the risks of being struck by construction vehicles and other traffic; being crushed or engulfed in an unguarded trench; and being overcome by oxygen-deficient or toxic atmospheres in the trench and an adjacent manhole.

Laurence Moloney, of Quincy, is facing three charges after two men were killed on a job site with his construction company, Atlantic Coast Utilities, earlier this year.
Laurence Moloney, of Quincy, is facing three charges after two men were killed on a job site with his construction company, Atlantic Coast Utilities, earlier this year.

According to the Department of Labor, Moloney and his company ignored the OSHA citations and repeated demands for abatement of the hazards.

In August, OSHA proposed a total of $1.3 million in penalties for the safety violations.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Laurence Moloney of Quincy charged with perjury after deaths on job site