Filing: Faulty pump installed by KBR

A rooftop pump supplying water to a shower that electrocuted a Shaler soldier was installed by a plumber working in Iraq under defense contractor KBR Inc. in 2006, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, a decorated Green Beret, died Jan. 2, 2008, when an electrical current flowed through pipes and charged the water of his shower in the Radwaniyah Palace Complex in Baghdad. His death is among 18 electrocutions in Iraq since 2003, records show.

Papers filed by KBR's Pittsburgh counsel, attorney Joseph Luciana III, include an e-mail from an Army investigator who said a KBR plumber admitted installing the pump atop Maseth's living quarters.

However, Heather Browne, director of corporate communications for KBR, refuted that allegation Thursday in an e-mailed statement to the Tribune-Review that read, "Based on our current information, KBR did not install or work on the pump motor."

The statement added that "installation of the pump that failed was done properly and was not the cause of Sgt. Maseth's death. There is no evidence to suggest otherwise."

Earlier this week, KBR representatives told the Tribune-Review editorial board that electrical maintenance work on Maseth's building did not fall under the firm's contractual responsibilities prior to his electrocution.

Mark Lowes, KBR's vice president for litigation, said KBR did "no work on the pump that shorted and led to Maseth's death." Lowes and Chris Heinrich, KBR's vice president and senior counsel for government and infrastructure, and Jill Pettibone, senior vice president for operational excellence government and infrastructure, said U.S. military personnel use many facilities that contain substandard wiring installed by Iraqis during the reign of Saddam Hussein.

Nevertheless, an e-mail from an Army investigator to Maseth's mother, Cheryl Harris, suggests otherwise. It also labels the soldier's death as a case of "negligent homicide."

Luciana included the investigator's message in court exhibits related to a wrongful death lawsuit filed against KBR by Harris and the soldier's father, Douglas Maseth.

The Dec. 16 e-mail from Amber A. Wojnar, special agent in charge of the Camp Slayer Criminal Investigation Division Office, informed Harris that "a Filipino plumber admitted to installing the pump on the roof during the previous KBR project in 2006. So, it was in fact conducted during KBR's time at RPC, and was not a byproduct of Iraqi engineering as previously alleged."

Wojnar indicated that several other soldiers who reported being shocked in the building said they submitted work orders to KBR for repairs and that KBR workers responded to their complaints and fixed the problems.

She told Harris, "I dispatched a supplemental report a few minutes ago titling two KBR supervisors and KBR itself for the offense of negligent homicide, as it pertains to your son. We have changed the manner of death from accidental to negligent homicide."

Wojnar wrote that she believes "there is credible information that their negligence led to Ryan's death. I believe they failed to ensure that work was being done by qualified electricians and plumbers, and to inspect the work that was being conducted ..."

Wojnar's decision will be reviewed at the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) headquarters at Fort Belvoir, Va., before it can be turned over to a military court or the Department of Justice.

KBR contends that there has been no official ruling of negligent homicide in Maseth's death because the CID has not closed its investigation. KBR, in its statement, said Wojnar "does not make the decision on the reclassification of Staff Sergeant Maseth's death... To our knowledge, there has been no reclassification to date by those who have the authority to make this decision."

E-mails included in court documents show the probe is continuing.

Col. Richard M. Whitaker, judge advocate, wrote to Harris on Jan. 14 that "whoever told you that CID's decision is final spoke prematurely, because the finding is subject to a legal review." However, he told Harris that he believed the ruling in her son's death would be changed.

Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer this week struck down a motion filed by Maseth's parents after finding that KBR did not violate a confidentiality agreement in connection with their wrongful death lawsuit.

Attorneys Stephen Del Sole and Patrick Cavanaugh, on behalf of the soldier's parents, had asked the court to impose sanctions against KBR, claiming that KBR violated local court rules by releasing two documents to Pittsburgh media.