by DENISE BUFFA
An elderly engineer was arraigned yesterday on charges he lied under oath when he said steel was used to construct a Bronx building that collapsed in an inferno, killing two firefighters in 2006. Prosecutors maintain that José Vargas, 83, "swore falsely" three times to city investigators during a probe of the fire.
He claimed steel beams, support columns and bolts had been used to renovate the roof of the Walton Avenue building in 2000 - as his plans filed with the city Buildings Department and his subsequent inspection showed.
But a forensic reconstruction by the city showed no steel had been used.
"There wasn't an ounce of steel in the entire building," Assistant DA Jeffrey Glucksman told Justice Peter Benitez in Bronx Supreme Court.
The blaze claimed the lives of Lt. Howard Carpluk Jr. and probationary firefighter Michael Riley of Engine Co. 75.
Lawyer Armando Montano said Vargas' work on the roof had nothing to do with the collapse.
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