Donna Puleio wrote on October 23, 2009 02:19 PM: My brother, Gary Puleio, http://garypuleio.blogspot.com a cement truck driver was killed at Meadville Redi-Mix Concrete on 8/15/2001 after falling from a concrete tower. OSHA accepted the implausible excuse offered by Redi-Mix that Gary just "wandered up there on his own" at the end of the driving shift rather than, as a new employee, being assigned the dangerous task of cleaning the tower without any safety equipment. Meadville Redi-Mix had been cited for numerous serious violations only months before Gary was killed. For Gary’s death, Redi-Mix paid a $6000 fine for REPEAT violations and accepted no wrongdoing.

Full access to Gary’s case records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was denied. The appeal to obtain full access and to review the “substantive” issues of the case was stalled for months. Finally, no further action could be taken anyway as OSHA requires that any citations or penalties must be issued within 6 months of an “alleged violation” as the neglectful killing of an inexperienced worker is called. Corporations routinely negotiate with OSHA to have fines reduced and violations downgraded through a process called abatement while workers have no such access.

Yo Freddy, wrote on October 23, 2009 09:26 AM: Isn't it time for your medication?

When you're done quoting scripture, Freaky Goatboy, get back to me.

This fight ain't over yet...

Fred Frazzetta wrote on October 23, 2009 06:18 AM: zoniarabago:

You are a coward & gutless, and if I were in your shoes I to would also be embarrassed to use my real name. It is real brave of you to post using a fake identity! I will not let you abuse either Kelly Snow or Debi Koehler-Fergen...Debi lost her son & Kelly almost lost her husband, and the truth of the matter is this: the incident never, ever should have happened in the first place - Boyd Gaming & their management team are responsible for two deaths & one near miss...like Harrah's Boyd Gaming believes it is above the law.

I have not had the pleasure to meet Kelly Snow or her husband David Snow, but I have met Debi Koehler-Fergen, and I can tell you all three are my heroes - they are standing up and doing the right thing something that a person like you is incapable of doing! Debi cried when I met her...she lost her son, she will never be able to tell him or show him again how much she loves him...his death was preventable. Debi & Kelly are speaking out to protect all of us, including you, another sheep willing to do as you are told for fear of being fired. You would not know the truth if it hit you squarely in your face!

Debi, Kelly, and David I encourage you to continue telling your story, you are making a difference! I appreciate what you are doing for all of us...thank you for standing up when everyone else around you is sitting down remaining silent.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

zoniarabago wrote on October 22, 2009 05:47 PM: To Kelly Snow: Thank you for your spelling corrections (inculcate and Eunuch). I wanted to see if you or your husband would respond. No one said your husband's tragic incident was a sham. What he reported in his blog was a lie and a sham regarding training, the OSHA inspector (which one was this?)and the steak house. Walt Disney could have come up with a better scenario. Why would he be in Billy Bob's? By the way; Why didn't David Snow respond instead of second hand information told to you? You are so correct in saying about people in glass houses. You are an expert in throwing stones.

Fred Frazzetta wrote on October 22, 2009 04:04 AM: Where was OSHA when Roman Empire Development (a sham subsidiary of Harrah's Entertainment, whose sole purpose for existing was to shield Harrah's Entertainment Inc. from being prosecuted for their illegal, criminal, willful activities during their remodels), had two employees scrape asbestos laden popcorn ceilings with nothing but paper masks and a water hose...for over three months...with no training what-so-ever? There are state & federal laws that forbid this, this is after Harrah's had already been investigated twice at Harrah's & the Flamingo and yet Harrah's continued breaking the law, continued exposing everyone to ASBESTOS during the remodels, and showed the world that the only thing that matters to Harrah's is their precious bottom line...the safety & health of their employees & Guests mean nothing to them - it is Harrah's actions not my words that said it all!

Stephen Coffield should be fired and then investigated, convicted and jailed for what OSHA has done & failed to do under his watch! But instead, Mr. Coffield is promoted because he has done such a wonderful job serving the Casinos interests here in Nevada...corruption & the good old boy network is alive and well here in Nevada...Mr. Coffield is a testament to this! I was under the impression that OSHA was supposed to be protecting the workers of this state, but it is blatantly obvious that this is not the case. In Nevada, the truth of the matter is this: we have strong laws in place to protect us, the workers, but they are not enforced...I ask, what good are they?

Until Nevada rids itself of men like Mr. Coffield, Richard Maddox, George Lyford, Ron Lynn, Steven Smith, Girard Page, Randall Sayre, Jim Gibbons, Rory Reid, Harry Reid, DA Roger, AG Masto, Medical Board..."what happens in Vegas will always stay in Vegas."...

Fred Frazzetta wrote on October 22, 2009 03:23 AM: James:

Well said, I could not agree with you more about Nevada OSHA's pathetic record about not caring & their do-nothing government attitude!

When I turned Harrah's Entertainment Inc. in to both the Clark County Building & Fire Departments for their illegal remodels, which left thousands of their hotel rooms unsafe for the public to stay in, I also turned them in to Nevada OSHA for having exposed their construction workers, hotel employees, and their valued Guests to ASBESTOS, a known carcinogenic, during the course of many of their illegal remodels! What did OSHA do?...you guessed it they gave Harrah's a little slap on the wrist and then helped Harrah's bury their dirty little secret. Then it happened again less than six months later at the Flamingo Hotel during their legal remodels, and again OSHA did practically nothing to protect us. Two engineers were singled out for being suspected as the whistleblowers, and OSHA would not protect them. In this case again, a large number of construction workers, hotel employees & guests of the hotel were exposed to ASBESTOS...they were transporting the bagged asbestos in compromised bags, that had not been properly washed through a path which brought the asbestos right by the Employee Dining Room - where food was sitting in the hall! It was reported to me that Harrah's own Asbestos Removal Team were wearing their asbestos covered clothes into the Employee Dining Room to eat. This same crack team went from spending two weeks on each floor abating the asbestos to days, only because of the fact that Harrah's management (Mike Whitehead) forced them to, so Harrah's could save money & time...at the expense of everyone's health that was in the hotel at the time.

...then Harrah's during their Caesar's remodel exposed everyone yet again...Nevada State OSHA SUCKS!

Kelly Snow wrote on October 21, 2009 10:10 PM: Zoniarabago - If what happened to my husband is a lie and a sham then please tell me what is the truth? You present yourself as being an authority on the subject. After living through this experience I am quite interested to hear what your truth is. Please present your "documented proof". It is easy to hide behind an alias and post your thoughts on a message board on a subject you claim to be well versed in. By the way, you misspelled "eunuch" and "unculcated" is not a word. Glass houses my friend, glass houses.

Honore (Union Carpenter) wrote on October 21, 2009 08:05 PM: One of the largest part of osha safety is communication. How can you have communication with people who can't communicate.The more educated people in the offices and on the ground speak english and the poor wroker in the air don't. until osha requires all workers to speak english these kinds of accidents will keep happening. Thankfully no one has been killed from fire are building collapse after they open as a result of the communiction barrier. Maybe if so many people did not get their jobs based on WHO THEY KNOW, instead of what they know and are qualified to do, the people with the skills performing the work properly and safely would not be getting hurt and killed.

zoniarabago wrote on October 21, 2009 04:48 PM: Mr. Snow. You sound very convincing to those who would not know anything more than what you speak. Your story is a total lie and a sham. Why can't you tell the truth about what really happened. You talk about people having balls, but you claim to have nothing more than an eunoch. Shame on you, there is documented proof you lie and are self serving and use the death of your two friends to further your cause to try to gather other unculcated groups around you. By the way, you need to learn how to spell and take a grammar lesson if you want to convince the world. our photo may be convincing to others but does not tell the whole truth.

no_name_for_me wrote on October 21, 2009 03:06 PM: To Mr. Snow The following fantasy you wrote is just that...a fantasy. Your bitterness should not cloud your abiltiy to tell the truth! What a bunch of Horse manure! "Becaus I saw first hand after the accident occured how inaffetivley Boyd@ OSHA were bieng regarding complying to getting on track while I served my new position at Sams Town, no doccuments were bieng reviewed, no actual hands on training occured, nor was the company providing proper training, instaed the Osha inspector went to Billy Bobs and had a nice big fat steak while he and the " saftey director" what a joke were having laughing and having a good ole time and when the inspector came back into the shop they tried to put me up as their poster boy that they were doing a good job."

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