Business owner had no insurance for bear caretaker

September 2, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Records show the owner of a bear that recently mauled its caretaker to death had no workplace-injury insurance to cover the man, an apparent violation of state law.

Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation spokeswoman Maria Smith said investigators will go to Sam Mazzola’s home near Cleveland today to determine if he had paid 24-year-old Brent Kandra or other employees since his coverage lapsed in late 2005.

Ohio requires business owners who pay even one employee to carry insurance in the event of injury or death, Smith said.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which regulates workplace safety, also is trying to determine whether Kandra was Mazzola’s employee or just a friend who occasionally helped out, spokesman Scott Allen said.

“We would only investigate if the person that was injured or killed was an employee of the company,” he said. “We are still trying to determine whether he [Kandra] was or not. It’s certainly not a clear-cut case.”

Kandra was mauled Aug. 19 after opening the bear’s cage for a feeding at the home where Mazzola keeps his exotic animal menagerie of bears, tigers, wolves and a lion. Kandra died the next day.

In describing Kandra’s relationship to Mazzola in an interview with The Associated Press, Mazzola’s attorney John Frenden said Kandra worked for Mazzola, making the point that he was an experienced animal handler.

In a separate interview, Kandra’s father, John Kandra, told the AP that his son collected pay from Mazzola — albeit spottily — and that he had told his son, “I really wish you wouldn’t work for him.”

On Wednesday, John Kandra said his son worked for several of Mazzola’s businesses over a number of years, erecting highway guardrails and fences, overseeing petting zoos Mazzola would take to malls, staffing his two pet stores or feeding the exotic beasts.

“Basically he was a part-time, fill-in guy. He had just started back after not working for him for a year,” Kandra said. “He’d work part time on his days off so he didn’t collect a paycheck. He’d be paid $20 or $40 in cash on a day off, probably under the table, and Sam would feed him dinner. They were friends.”

A message was left seeking comment from Frenden. Mazzola’s number has been disconnected.