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4 from North Haven co. busted for Milford mall sign collapse

Published: Friday, July 23, 2010 - New Haven Register

HARTFORD — A state investigation of a sign collapse at the Westfield Connecticut Post mall in Milford has led to the arrest of four people working for Sign Lite Inc. of North Haven.

The allegations are that unlicensed electrical sign work was performed or directed at the mall in July 2009, according to the investigation by the Department of Consumer Protection’s occupational enforcement unit .

Sign Lite installed a 220-pound sign for the clothing store PCX about a week before the sign fell July 13, 2009, taking with it about 200 feet of facade made of sheet metal-backed drywall, according to the police report. The facade was above store entrances inside the upper level of the mall. A person's arm and shoulder were injured from being hit by falling debris, the state said.

Kenneth Detulio, Richard Heller, Paul Snedeker and Shaun McCormick of Sign Lite Inc. a company at 6 Corporate Drive, North Haven, are to appear in Superior Court in Milford on Aug. 3 on charges of performing or directing unlicensed occupational trade work.

Detulio, the company vice president on Friday, however, disputed the claim that the sign caused what occurred and maintained that it was the wall that fell, bringing the sign with it.

"The wall was the reason the whole thing collapsed," Detulio maintained.

Detulio also said that he had not been aware of the requirement for the type of license the state now demands but company workers have since obtained it.

Last month, Milford police referred further investigation to the Department of Consumer Protection after finding, in consultation with a state prosecutor, that, “There was no criminal liability on Sign Lite Inc., except for state licensing requirements and the building permit violation.”

“Occupational licensing laws ensure competency in the construction of industrial, commercial and residential buildings,” Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. said. “As demonstrated in this accident, unlicensed contractors put public health and safety in jeopardy,”

The state licensing process ensures that applicants have the necessary education and training for competency within the associated trade, the department said. In this case the work required a limited electrical sign contractor’s license.