Sound Transit steel supplier gets $50,000 fine, probation

A former steel subcontractor for Sound Transit was sentenced Friday to a year's probation and $50,000 in penalties for supplying the wrong grade of steel for Tukwila light-rail columns, then falsifying documents to hide his mistake.

David Appleby is "a very, very lucky man" to avoid prison, said Carl Blackstone, assistant U.S. attorney. It turns out the Oregon-made steel sheets that Appleby NW supplied did not compromise the 154 earthquake-proof columns. The steel was used mainly as cylindrical forms to shape concrete while it was being poured. The rail line opened in July.

Appleby must repay the Federal Transit Administration $30,523 for engineering studies to confirm the columns are safe, and pay $20,000 in fines.

Blackstone sought a $150,000 fine to send a message to other businesspeople who might think about cutting corners. But U.S. District Judge John Coughenour said the felony on Appleby's record for making and using false documents is punishment enough.

Mike Lindblom: 206-515-5631 or mlindblom@seattletimes.com