by BARBARA ROSS AND JONATHAN LEMIRE
A grand jury hearing evidence on the fatal Deutsche Bank building fire is expected to hand out indictments by the end of next month - and could even charge the city itself, sources told the Daily News Thursday.
The panel has been meeting twice a week since November 2007 to determine whether anyone is criminally responsible for the Aug. 18, 2007, blaze that killed two firefighters at the condemned building that overlooks Ground Zero.
Among those facing indictment are employees of the private contractors that were hired to dismantle the toxic tower, as well as officials at city agencies that had oversight at the skyscraper, sources said.
It is also possible that an entire city or state agency - and perhaps even the City of New York itself - could be charged, sources said.
"They're all pointing fingers at each other, and they could all be right," said one law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.
"The Fire Department was supposed to do inspections every 15 days," said the official. "They don't."
"[The Department of] Buildings was supposed to look at the standpipe - they didn't notice a piece of it was missing?" the official said. "On the other hand, there were a lot of pipes in the basement ... how do you know that one went to the standpipe and not some toilet?
"Stupidity is not a crime under the penal code," the official said. "Otherwise, we'd be a lot busier."
Firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino died in the blaze, which was sparked by a discarded cigarette, after they were unable to escape the dark, smoky high-rise.
The building at 130 Liberty St. had been heavily damaged during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and, after scores of delays, was being taken down floor by floor.
Investigators discovered that exits had been sealed, plywood barriers blocked each level and a broken standpipe in the basement made it impossible for the firefighters to combat the flames.
Mandatory FDNY inspections - supposed to occur twice a month - also had been ignored. The Fire Department disciplined three officers whose units had been responsible for the safety checks.
Investigators have subpoenaed more than 3 million documents and have interviewed scores of witnesses. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta testified last week in front of the Manhattan grand jury.
If a city agency is eventually found guilty of criminally negligent homicide, it's unlikely anyone will go to jail.
Instead, the agency may have to pay steep fines or agree to operate under close supervision, officials said.
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