Employer sentenced after trying to cover worksite death

NORTHVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The owner of Wiedemann Sons Roofing was sentenced Monday, June 10, in connection to trying to cover up the death of an employee on the job. Jeremiah Wiedemann, 43, will serve five years probation and pay a fine and surcharge.

On Friday, May 12, Northville Police responded to the area of S. Main Street at the spillway in Northville for reports of a man bleeding from the head and was in and out of consciousness. The man was flown to Albany Medical Center, where he died a few days later. 

Police say initial reports indicated the man fell approximately 10-12 feet near the Batchellerville Bridge in Saratoga County. Once the investigation was turned over to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, it was alleged that the incident happened on Sinclair Road in Northhampton, not near the Bathcellerville Bridge.

Police responded to Sinclar Road and examined the area of the alleged incident. After investigating the area, police say they found a construction site where a roof was being replaced on the house, and there was probable cause to believe the victim had fallen from the site.

Northville Police, in assistance with the New York State Inspector General’s office, said that Jeremiah Wiedemann, the owner of Wiedemann Contracting, had falsely reported where the incident and tampered with physical evidence.

Authorities say Wiedemann didn’t have worker’s compensation for the job he was completing on Sinclar Road while having more than five employees working on the site.

The New York State Inspector General also says an additional charge, third-degree falsely reporting an incident, was covered by his plea.