2 former Extrudex execs indicted in coverup of death details

NORTH JACKSON

Two former Extrudex Aluminum executives are accused in a federal indictment of covering up circumstances in the death of one worker caused by unsafe machinery.

Brian K. Carder, 62, of Stow, who was the Mahoning Avenue plant’s general manager at the time, and Paul Love, 57, of Lake Milton, who was its safety coordinator, are both named in a four-count indictment handed up Wednesday, according to a release from the U.S. Northern District Court.

The indictment alleges Carder and Love made false statements to investigators from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, withheld an email regarding the machinery’s safety and persuaded other workers to recant their previous email warnings about the machinery’s safety, “including by suggesting their jobs might be in jeopardy.”

John J. Tomlin Jr., 21, of Niles, was killed in October 2012 when racks containing hot aluminum product weighing between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds that he was pushing on a conveyor tipped over, crushing him. The Mahoning County Coroner’s office ruled Tomlin’s death by “mechanical asphyxiation” was an accident.

Read more about the matter in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.