The owner of a suburban Philadelphia roofing company is heading to prison in connection with the fatal fall of an employee in 2013.
Sixty-year-old James McCullagh was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to 10 months behind bars in the death of 52-year-old Mark Smith, who fell 45 feet from the roof of a Philadelphia church when scaffolding gave way.
McCullagh, owner of James J. McCullagh Roofing, pleaded guilty in December to making false statements, obstruction of justice and willfully violating an Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulation.
Prosecutors say McCullagh failed to provide fall protection equipment and tried to cover it up by lying to federal inspectors. The Meadowbrook man also admitted to asking employees to lie and say they had fall protection, including safety harnesses.
McCullagh apologized to Smith's family in court.
