Forklift kills man at idled factory
By Jesse J. Smith, Freeman staff
SAUGERTIES - A Rockland County man was crushed to death by a forklift on the grounds of the idled American Candle Co. factory on Old Kings Highway, police said on Friday.
The building where Menachem N. Brandwein was working before his death had been declared unsafe two weeks ago.
Brandwein, 26, of Monsey apparently was working alone Thursday evening, moving candles from a warehouse to a loading dock, when his forklift became stuck in mud, according to state police at the town of Ulster barracks. When Brandwein tried to free the machine, it tipped onto its side and pinned him, police said.
Brandwein's body was not discovered until Friday morning. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Ulster County Medical Examiner Dr. Walter Dobushak.
Saugerties Building Inspector Paul Andreassen said the building where Brandwein was working was ordered closed last month when a sprinkler system froze and burst, causing extensive damage. A Jan. 31 letter from the town Building Department to American Candle stated: "The building and premises are considered unsafe, and the threat of injury, as well as loss of equipment and structures, is considered probable and high."
The Jan. 31 order was the latest in a string of safety-related actions against American Candle and its local subsidiary, Clearly Tech.
In April 2003, a court ordered the factory closed because of building and safety violations. The plant reopened briefly in early 2004 for a limited production run but then shut down for good.
American Candle/Clearly Tech attorney David Van Benschoten said the building where Brandwein was working was sold recently and the company was given two months to remove the remaining inventory. Van Benschoten said he believed Brandwein was employed by a trucking company hired to move the stock.
"(Brandwein) had moved product out of this place many times before," said Van Benschoten, who said the Building Department order did not prohibit the removal of items from the warehouse. "He used an American Candle forklift and appeared to be skilled in its use. He loaded his own truck at his own convenience."
Andreassen, who was at the scene Friday, said the January letter banned all entry into the building.
"There should have been no one in the facility. It was deemed unsafe," he said. "We can't take the risk of having anybody inside with those kind of conditions."
Van Benschoten denied any wrongdoing on the part of his client, though he conceded any lawsuit resulting from Brandwein's death is likely to target the candle company.
"When people start suing, they start suing everybody standing around," the lawyer said. "It would be silly to predict that if there's a lawsuit, American Candle wouldn't be included. But I don't know of anything American Candle did for which they could be held liable."
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