Community service, fines for 2 men convicted of World Trade Center parachute jumps

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Two men convicted of parachute-jumping from the top of One World Trade Center were sentenced on Monday to community service and each ordered to pay $2,000 in fines.

A judge sentenced James Brady to 250 hours of community service and Andrew Rossig to 200 hours.

The men were convicted in June of reckless endangerment and other misdemeanours. Another man, Marko Markovich, also was convicted and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 17.

The three men jumped from the building, which was still under construction, in the early morning hours of Sept. 30, 2013. They were arrested six months later.

Judge Juan Merchan chastised Brady and Rossig at their sentencing, calling their actions selfish.

“These defendants tarnished the building before it even opened and sullied the memories of those who jumped on 9-11 not for sport but because they had to,” he said.

The men’s parachute jumps caused embarrassment to authorities over security at the building, the tallest in the United States, as did the case of a teenager who gained unauthorized access just days before the men were arrested.

At the men’s trial, they had faced a felony burglary charge, but they were acquitted of that.

Defence attorneys had focused on fighting the burglary charge, arguing the jumpers’ activities didn’t fit the legal definition of an offence that involves being in a building illegally with the intention of committing another crime.

The defence also argued the jumps weren’t reckless, saying the three planned the stunt carefully to avoid imperiling anyone. No one was injured.