Ferry Director To Be Arraigned

Prosecutors in last October's deadly Staten Island ferry wreck charged the city's ferries director with manslaughter, calling his years of slipshod management "a tragedy waiting to happen."

Besides Patrick Ryan, four others were also charged, including the ferry's pilot, Richard Smith, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter and resigned Wednesday.

Smith acknowledged that he neglected his duties by taking medications that made him lose consciousness at the ferry's helm Oct. 15. After the wreck, he fled and tried to commit suicide.

Eleven people died and dozens were hurt when the ferry drifted off course and slammed into a concrete maintenance pier, turning a routine trip across New York Harbor into a nightmare of shattered glass and twisted metal that was one of the worst mass-transit disasters in New York history.

Official investigations, whistle-blowers and news reports after the wreck drew a portrait of an operation shot through with cronyism, mismanagement and inattention to safety.

Prosecutors said Ryan neglected long-established safety practices, including the requirement that a ship's captain and assistant captain share the wheelhouse during docking. The two-pilot requirement was put in place in 1958 to prevent an accident if one person was incapacitated, prosecutors said.

But Ryan never told new pilots about the rule or enforced it, prosecutors said. After the crash, he falsely told his superiors and federal investigators that the rule was in place, prosecutors said, leading to additional charges of making false statements and obstructing justice.

The accusations against Ryan were not the first. He was dismissed from his post after a 1996 city audit alleged improprieties with his time cards, his city car and supervision of his brother-in-law, a port captain. The department later withdrew the charges and Ryan returned to his position.

Ryan's attorney said he had no immediate comment. The city's corporation counsel, Michael Cardozo, issued a statement defending Ryan.

"We do not believe that Capt. Patrick Ryan was guilty of manslaughter in the performance of his duties ... as the indictment alleges," Cardozo said. "Patrick Ryan has been a respected and loyal employee who brought about many improvements to the ferry over his long history of service."

Smith, Ryan and port captain John Mauldin, who was also charged Wednesday, were suspended with pay after the indictment.

Mauldin was charged with making false statements and obstructing justice for allegedly lying to the National Transportation Safety Board, telling its investigators that the two-pilot rule was in place.

"He continues to feel sorrow for the victims but looks forward to clearing his name," said his attorney, Nicholas DeFeis.

Also charged was former ferry Capt. Michael Gansas, who is accused of making false statements for telling Coast Guard investigators that he was in the pilot house when Smith passed out and had tried in vain to right the ship. He was fired in November for failing to cooperate with the investigation.

William Tursi, Smith's doctor, was charged with one count of making a false statement.