Defamed’ death-crane man sues

The crane operator blamed for the 2016 lower Manhattan rig collapse that killed a Harvard-trained mathematician on the street is suing investigators for defamation — insisting he was not the “root cause” of the accident. The city probe, conducted for the Buildings Department by an outside company called Crane Tech Solutions, found that Kevin Reilly (left) made a string of mistakes that ended with the crane toppling on a windy February morning.

Reilly, 58, also wants to sue the city in a parallel $2.5 million defamation case but needs permission from a judge because he missed a deadline.

In the Manhattan Supreme Court suit against Crane Tech, Reilly says the probe failed to “properly investigate and report the root causes of the crane collapse.”

He’s suing the contractor for an unspecified sum. The company did not return a call requesting comment.

A Buildings Department spokesman said, “Our investigation found that Mr. Reilly acted recklessly, with tragic results. We suspended his crane operator’s license last year, an action that remains in effect today.

“We are also pursuing a permanent revocation of his license . . . with the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings.”

Reilly’s attorney, Stacey Richman, declined to comment.