Jury hears evidence in death of Calverton firm’s laborer

A Manhattan Supreme Court jury began hearing evidence Friday in the second manslaughter trial stemming from the death of laborer Carlos Moncayo in the cave-in of a Long Island excavation subcontractor’s trench last year.

Alfonso Prestia, 55, the site supervisor for general contractor Harco Construction at the Meatpacking District site where the death occurred, is charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.

Harco was convicted of all three charges in June by a judge. Moncayo’s employer, Sky Materials Corp. of Calverton, and its foreman, Wilmer Cueva, face a separate trial, but no date has been scheduled.

Prosecutors say Prestia recklessly allowed work in the 14-foot unshored trench where Moncayo, a 22-year-old Ecuadorean immigrant, died. Prestia’s lawyer in opening arguments said that Prestia tried to correct safety conditions at the site but was ignored.