East Village Explosion: 3 Convicted After Deadly 2015 Blast

EAST VILLAGE, NY — An East Village landlord and two others have been found guilty of manslaughter for an explosion in 2015 that killed two men.

A jury found the three guilty Friday afternoon, DA Cy Vance announced.

Landlord Maria Hrynenko, 59, general contractor Dilber Kukic, 44, and unlicensed plumber Anthanasios 'Jerry' Ioannidis, 63, had been on trial for two months. They'll be sentenced Jan. 10.

"This is a big win for public safety in New York," Vance said.

"As construction and development continues to boom, today's guilty verdict puts property owners, contractors, and managers on notice: My office will pursue criminal charges against those who place expediency and financial gain over life and limb," he said.

The blast killed two — 23-year-old Nicholas Figueroa and 26-year-old Moises Locon — as well as seriously injured 13 others, according to prosecutors.

"While today's result will not bring these young New Yorkers back, I hope the Figeuroa and Locon families take a measure of comfort in knowing that this case will change the way that landlords and contractors do business in New York," Vance added.

Among the injured included former Battalion Chief Edward Tierney, who testified injuries sustained while fighting the blaze have left him in constant pain.

"I used to swim. It's too much. It's too much pain," he told the jury back in September, as reported by the New York Post.

Teresa Galarce-Garcia, who was on a date with Figueroa at a sushi restaurant on the ground floor, suffered a punctured lung, broken ribs, and a broken nose.

She told CBS2, "That could be my family, your family. That could be anyone's family."

The Manhattan District Attorney's office said the blast was caused by an illegal gas line set up in the basement after landlord Hrynenko hired the contractor, Kukic, to renovate apartments at 121 Second Avenue. Kukic then hired Ioannidis to perform the work.

But since Ioannidis did not have a proper license, he paid another plumber, Andrew Trombettas, to allow Ioannidis to use his credentials, prosecutors said at the time. Trombettas got three years probation and 100 hours of community service in a plea deal earlier this year for the scheme.

The building was managed by Hrynenko's son, Michael Hrynenko, who was also charged but died while awaiting trial.

The New York State Supreme Court jury found Hrynenko, Ioannidis, and Kukic guilty for various counts of manslaughter, assault, and reckless endangerment, according to the DA's office. Ioannidis was also found guilty of falsifying business records.