Ferry Captain Suspended for Refusing to Talk

[dreissig]

Ferry captain Michael Gansas was suspended for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into last week's fatal crash in Staten Island. Assistant captain Richard Smith remains hospitalized following a suicide attempt.

Bloomberg said he's suspending Gansas, who has refused to talk to probers about why he was apparently away from his post in the boat's front pilothouse during last week's ferry disaster. The city is also looking into legal action against the 38-year-old, the mayor said.

"It's an outrage that somebody who can give us information to perhaps find out how we can improve service refuses to talk," said Bloomberg, who received a letter from Gansas today saying the skipper refused to meet with investigators, despite a federal subpoena ordering him to do so.

"A person like that has no business working for this city," he told reporters at a Lower Manhattan news conference this morning.


http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/si/nyc-ferry1023,0,1687793.story?coll=nyc-topheadlines-left

[realFedUp]

1. suspended?

Howabout firing his ass. Isn't this the guy who was in
other collisions with a ferry and kept getting his job
back? Are there so few ferry captains in the US?

[NewYorkerfromMass]

2. firing his ass? how about

criminal charges- say...involuntary manslaughter for abandoning his post?

[TeeYiYi]

3. I'm sure he knows the criminal charges are coming . . .

. . . that's why he's refusing to talk. He knows he's screwed either way. He's probably lawyered up already. His actions are speaking louder than words at this point.

TYY

[dreissig]

4. Firing a Union Worker

Bloomberg can't fire him without clearing a number of procedural hurdles. Gansas is painted into a corner because it's obvious that he wasn't in the pilot house as he was supposed to be. He also doesn't want to get hit with the whole blame. After all, he didn't crash the ship, the other guy did.

Gansas shouldn't be made a scapegoat for what appears to be a failed control system. That doesn't mean he's not guilty, but he's not guilty for the entire failure.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

5. True, he didn't crash the ship

But it's also true he didn't observe and perform the duty of his job, which as captain was to be in the pilot house. In fact, given that the assist. captain may have succumbed to a medical condition, he is MORE guilty than him. Unless of course HE also has a medical excuse for not being there.
For the record I hope his irresponsible neglectful ass fries.