SHE'S CRANE QUEEN
‘King’ dad in ploy to avoid death $lap: foe
The Crane King behind a fatal 2008 collapse is being accused of trying to avoid a $96 million court judgment by quietly giving his business to his 32yearold blogger daughter, whose previous experience was selling nail polish and perfume.
Shortly before the civil trial started, James F. Lomma began handing assets to a company called JK Cranes, that is headed by his inexperienced daughter Jennifer Gabel, lawyers for the victim’s family charge.
Lomma started the transfer of dozens of huge cranes to Gabel in March 2014 — even though she is not a construction pro, but a former manager at a cosmetics firm called Coty, the attorneys say.
“It’s highly suspicious that he’s moving cranes to his daughter’s company,” said attorney Susan Karten, representing the family of laborer Ramadan Kurtaj, who died in the Upper East Side construction disaster.
“His daughter is basically a front woman for him in an effort to conceal these assets.”
A close look at JK Cranes’ list of machinery reveals that 28 of her 46 cranes are exactly the same models as the ones her father owns. And the word “Lomma” is visible on equipment in photos posted on JK Crane’s Facebook page.
Since starting the company, Gabel has started a blog called “Hauling in Heels,” about the construction industry.
One posting called “How Does It Work: Tower Cranes” shows she has vague knowledge of safety laws, as she writes: “I have been told that in NYC, if the crane’s boom . . . were to go over another building, it would be mandatory to relocate the top three floors of that building.”
The married mother told an industry publication, Engineering NewsRecord, last month that she worked for her dad in her teens. But before his civil trial, he told her “now is the best time” to follow in his footsteps.
Attorney Bernadette Panzella, who represents the mother of late crane operator Donald Leo Jr., said: “Lomma is apparently putting his daughter . . . in charge of cranes and other heavy machinery. Her ‘training’ for this is her work in a cosmetic company where her interest and focus was perfume and nail polish.”
The lawyers said they plan to alert the court about the alleged asset transfer. In August, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Manuel Mendez barred Lomma from moving assets.
Gabel did not return phone calls or emails requesting comment. Glenn Fuerth, her father’s attorney, said, “I do not comment on pending litigation.”