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The Prestige Limousine & Heating Service attorney, Lee Kindlon, said that the state's Department of Transportation had conducted a periodic inspection last week and had discovered "minor security breaches," including windshield wipers. defective or defective and a broken latch on a glass.
Both problems were corrected and, "last week again, the Ministry of Transport told them that they could, that this vehicle was able to drive and that they could drive it," said Kindlon. "I dispute that recent failures of minor safety defects contributed to this accident," he said.
State officials countered, claiming that the vehicle was not allowed to be in service.
"The claim that the limousine was allowed to circulate on the road following the September inspection is categorically false," said Joseph Morrissey, spokesman for the transportation department of the United States. State of New York, in a statement. "The vehicle was inspected and the owner was warned not to drive it and the vehicle was taken out of service."
For reasons still unknown, the limo crossed a stop sign at Schoharie and crashed into a parked SUV. The accident killed 20 people, including 17 passengers who rented the limousine for a birthday party, two pedestrians and the driver.
Before owning the company, the Pakistani national was an FBI informant, where he conducted an undercover investigation for several months in 2008 and 2009, according to court records. An official and a former lawyer familiar with his cooperation with the FBI confirmed to CNN that Hussain was the informant.
What we know about the driver
Kindlon disputed the assertion that the driver of the limousine did not have the proper license to drive the vehicle. The company checked with the motor vehicle department "several times" and was told yes, said Kindlon.
The authorities identified the driver as 53 year old Scott T. Lisinicchia from Lake George, New York State. Kindlon said that he had been working for the company for years. This was a salaried employee who worked when the company needed a driver.
Kindlon called him "a very reliable employee and an excellent driver".
He added that the company was reviewing the driver's history as part of an internal investigation. He also stated that the company collected maintenance records, driver logs and property records and intended to transmit them to the authorities.
State of the disputed vehicle
The guests at the birthday party were in a 2001 Ford tour turned limo. As more and more details about the seemingly broken rules are revealed, investigators also question whether the unusual structure of the limousine could have contributed to this mass tragedy.
"I would just ask that the investigation be conducted so that we can understand exactly why the vehicle crashed," Kindlon said.
Off-road business vehicles
Records from the US Department of Transportation show that the company's vehicles have been inspected five times in the last two years and four vehicles have been decommissioned.
State police seized three of the company's vehicles in addition to the modified limousine involved in the accident, said state police commander Robert Patnaude.
Kindlon stated that the vehicles removed from the road had been sold or transferred to different owners. Those who had security problems or mechanical problems were corrected and put back into service.
According to the Federal Road Transport Administration, the vehicle suffered the following three violations during an inspection on 4 September, which resulted in an "out of service" designation, which meant that it could not be on the road. road because it presented an imminent danger:
• Drive a vehicle with more seating capacity than the manufacturer's capacity
• non-existent or faulty bus emergency exits
• Inspection, repair and maintenance of parts and accessories
Seven other violations of the vehicle did not receive the designation "out of service", including the failure to correct the previously reported defects.
The owner of the company was an informant of the FBI
The owner of the company is currently in Pakistan, where he travels frequently. "He's ready and able to come back when they need him," Kindlon said.
"His heart is broken and his family's heart is broken," Kindlon said. "All he can do to remedy this, he will do it, and he is really sorry for everything that has happened."
He circumvented the expulsion of his conviction by agreeing to cooperate in an investigation of another person. In 2007, Hussain became a paid informant of the FBI and began working in the Lower Hudson Valley, according to records. The records show that Hussain's job was to locate Muslims likely to conspire against the United States.
Hussain attended services at a mosque in Newburgh under the direction of the FBI in 2008, according to the archives. The FBI has a home with concealed audio and video recording equipment as well as audio equipment for his car. Hussain is presented as a rich Pakistani immigrant knowing the teachings of Islam.
He testified in at least one federal case.
Identified victims
Before the disaster, the 17 birthday party guests in the limousine – including newlyweds, young couples and four sisters – were heading to a brewery in upstate New York. The authorities published their names on Tuesday:
Axel J. Steenburg, 29 years old, Amsterdam, NY
Richard M. Steenburg, 34, Johnstown, NY
Amy L. Steenburg, 29 years old, Amsterdam, NY
Allison King, 31, Ballston Spa, NY
Mary E. Dyson, 33, Watertown, NY
Robert J. Dyson, 34, Watertown, NY
Abigail M. Jackson, 34, Amsterdam, NY
Matthew W. Coons, 27, Johnstown, NY
Savannah D. Bursese, 24, Johnstown, NY
Patrick K. Cushing, 31, Troy, NY
Amanda D. Halse, 26, Fort Ann, NY
Erin R. McGowan, 34, Amsterdam, NY
Shane T. McGowan, 30, Amsterdam, NY
Amanda Rivenburg, 29, Colony, NY
Adam G. Jackson, 34, Amsterdam, NY
Pedestrians were identified as Rachael K. Cavosie, 30, of Waterford, and Michael C. Ukaj, 34, of Johnstown.
Miguel Marquez of CNN, Aaron Cooper, Eliott McLaughlin, Holly Yan and Polo Sandoval contributed to this report.
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