by ALEX GINSBERG
More than a year after a jury found that a Bronx building manager and owner were responsible for the "Black Sunday" blaze that killed two firefighters, a judge yesterday tossed the panel's verdict -- prompting tears from the widows and outrage from the city's Bravest.
Supreme Court Justice Margaret Clancy said there was no reason to believe that the manager, Cesar Rios, 53, and property owner, 234 E. 178th Street LLC, knew that tenants had illegally divided up the rooms in two apartments, cutting off access to the fire escape.
"The evidence was completely lacking," wrote the judge.
Lt. Curtis Meyran, 46, and firefighter John Bellew, 37, died after rapidly erupting flames trapped them inside apartment 4-L of the East 178th Street building, forcing the pair to jump to their deaths from a fifth-floor window.
"It's definitely a dagger to the heart -- again," said firefighter Jeffrey Cool, one of four firefighters who survived the leap.
"Two firefighters gave their lives for the City of New York, and this judge just basically turned a jury's decision upside down."
Prosecutors had said the illegal walls put up by tenants in apartments 4-L and 3-I, where the fire began, cut off the fire escapes and channeled the flames, magnifying the intensity of the blaze.
The tenants, Caridad Coste and Rafael Castillo, were acquitted of all charges, but a separate jury convicted Rios and the owner of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.
In her decision, Clancy cited evidence showing that Rios had never visited either apartment and said jurors had engaged in "speculation and conjecture."
The Bronx DA's Office said it was reviewing its appeal options.
Cool said the judge's decision showed contempt for firefighters, and forgiveness for slumlords.
Additional reporting by Philip Messing.
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