Edward Marquette, Former Crane Inspector, Convicted of Falsifying Records A former city crane inspector was found guilty on Friday of claiming to have inspected six cranes that he had not actually visited, part of a string of lapses by the Department of Buildings that came to light after two separate crane collapses in 2008 killed nine people. Prosecutors presented cellphone records showing that the former inspector, Edward J. Marquette, was not at work sites during the times that his routing sheets showed he was inspecting cranes. Justice Thomas Farber of State Supreme Court in Manhattan, who heard the case without a jury, said he would not have found Mr. Marquette guilty if he had only been running an errand or two on work time. But the judge said prosecutors had proved that Mr. Marquette made a regular practice of falsely claiming to have performed inspections "when, in fact, he was nowhere near there." Justice Farber found Mr. Marquette, 51, not guilty of charges related to an inspection of a crane that collapsed on March 15, 2008, at the site of a high-rise apartment building under construction at 303 East 51st Street. After that collapse killed six construction workers and a woman visiting from Florida, investigators examining records from the Department of Buildings found a logbook entry showing that Mr. Marquette had inspected the crane 11 days earlier. Justice Farber said prosecutors had not proved that Mr. Marquette ever filed records asserting that he had inspected the crane on March 4. Officials have long said that Mr. Marquette's choices probably played no role in the collapse at East 51st Street. An investigation found that a rigging contractor, William Rapetti, had used a worn sling to stabilize the 22-story crane that snapped. Mr. Rapetti was found not guilty of manslaughter and other charges two years ago. But the initial finding of the discrepancy in Mr. Marquette's records for East 51st Street put him under the scrutiny of investigators, and a larger pattern emerged. "There are lifesaving reasons why the Department of Buildings has protocols and a set of standards in place for crane inspectors," Cyrus R. Vance, the Manhattan district attorney, said. By lying about inspecting cranes, the defendant put the safety of New Yorkers at risk. Justice Farber found Mr. Marquette - who resigned from the department after he was arrested - guilty on charges of filing a false instrument, falsifying business records and official misconduct. Mr. Marquette showed no signs of worry before the verdict. He smiled and seemed relaxed in a loosefitting gray shirt and faded black jeans. He declined to comment as he left court after the verdict. His lawyer, Andrew Freifeld, has said that Mr. Marquette was used as a scapegoat by investigators looking to assign blame for the crane collapse. Mr. Freifeld said he would appeal the guilty verdicts. Mr. Marquette's case is the last criminal case from two crane collapses in 2008. James F. Lomma, the owner of a crane that collapsed on May 30, 2008, on East 91st street, killing two construction workers, was acquitted on manslaughter and other charges this year. An employee of Mr. Lomma's pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide in buying the part that failed from a Chinese company to save time and money. Mr. Marquette faces up to four years in prison at his sentencing, which is scheduled for Oct. 1. Eli Cherkasky, an assistant district attorney, asked the judge to hold Mr. Marquette on $10,000 bail because, he said, prosecutors intended to request a prison sentence. But Justice Farber noted that Mr. Marquette, who lives in Midtown Manhattan with his wife and has found another job, had appeared at every court date for more than four years. The judge added that "it is by no means certain" that he would sentence him to prison. "I have no intention of setting bail in this case," the judge said.