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A federal judge has sentenced a construction site superintendent who covered up a safety violation that led to the 2009 death of a worker.

Robert Christopher Kennedy of Rapid City, SD, pleaded guilty to willfully violating an OSHA regulation that led to the death of Carl Beck, 29, in Washington County, PA.

Beck was part of a team installing a roof on a motel when he fell 42 feet to his death.

A judge sentenced Kennedy to three years of probation with the first six months to be spent in home confinement.

Beck worked for C.A. Franc Construction. Christopher Franc pleaded guilty in February 2010 to a willful OSHA violation leading to a death. He was sentenced last June to three years of probation, including six months of home confinement, and was ordered to pay Beck’s funeral expenses.

OSHA fined Franc $539,000.

Prosecutors say that immediately after Beck’s death, Kennedy told Franc to put fall protection gear on the roof so it looked like it was there before the fatal fall.

Kennedy used photos of the newly placed safety equipment to mislead OSHA investigators into believing that the gear was in place before Beck’s death, according to prosecutors.

Do the penalties fit the crime in this case? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Tags: fatal fall, Franc Construction, home confinement, willfully violating OSHA regulation