The trail leading to the heart of the biggest story in New York City over the past two weeks – the death of two firefighters at the former Deutsche Bank building near Ground Zero and the mysterious company hired to do the demolition work there – can be traced all the way up to the northwest Bronx.

That’s where you’ll find the offices of Regional Scaffolding and Hoisting Company, which also doubles as the address of the John Galt Corporation.

Both companies were hired by the general contractor, Bovis Lend Lease, to demolish the former Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty St., a $150 million endeavor. John Galt was fired from the job a week after the fires for defaulting on its contract following a flotilla of safety violations. Regional Scaffolding continues to do work at the Deutsche Bank building.

While Regional Scaffolding appears to be a legitimate operation, John Galt, a conglomeration of companies that shares officers with Regional Scaffolding along with an address, appears to be the complete opposite. In the press, John Galt has been dubbed a “fictional” or “ghost” company.

In addition to sharing officers with Regional Scaffolding, the John Galt Corporation also includes two executives from Safeway Environmental Corporation, an outfit with a blighted past, including a former owner with ties to the Gambino crime family, according to an article in the New York Times. John Galt has apparently not done any work of any kind prior to the Deutsche Bank project since being incorporated in 1983, according to the Times.

In 2006, however, John Galt won the demolition contract for the Bronx House of Detention, according to the Times, but they were dropped from the job during a review process that revealed the company was being investigated by the city’s Department of Investigation.

Often, large construction or demolition contracts are awarded to a conglomeration of companies put together under the banner of a little known entity set up for such a job. But after a series of safety violations leading up to the deadly downtown fire, which was possibly caused by a negligent demolition worker smoking on site, everyone is wondering: Who is John Galt?

From a literary standpoint, “Who is John Galt?” is actually the first line in philosopher Ayn Rand’s novel, “Atlas Shrugged.” Galt is one of the main characters in the novel and is also known as the Mystery Worker.

According to news reports and city records, Greg Blinn is the president of the John Galt Corporation. Glenn Blinn and Kevin Blinn are listed as president and vice president, respectively, of a company called Webster Development Corporation, which shares an address and telephone number with Regional Scaffolding, according to Buildings Department records. Greg Blinn is also listed as both an officer and the president of Webster Development in city records.

It’s unclear how all of these Blinns and companies are related, but they all trace back to 3900 Webster Ave., a thin strip of land between Woodlawn Cemetery and the Metro North track, which borders the Bronx River.

No other commercial enterprise exists for more than a mile on either side of 3900 Webster Ave.

Halfway between Gun Hill Road and East 233rd Street is a long, unmarked, fenced-in building overgrown with weeds and vines. Wide vehicle entrances on either side of the building, about four blocks apart, lead to long driveways filled with what appears to be scaffolding equipment and supplies. Large trucks with “Regional Scaffolding and Hoisting” written on them line the curbs of Webster Avenue. The address listed below the name on the trucks say Upper Nyack, New York.

The inside of the building is an air conditioned, well-lit, spacious collection of rooms with glass and wood-paneled walls. A large sign that reads “Regional Scaffolding and Hoisting Company” greets visitors.

Last week, in the afternoon, a handful of well-dressed people were milling about the office area. A couple of construction workers, wearing orange safety vests walked into the building. They worked for Regional Scaffolding, they said.

A receptionist said there was no one there who could speak about the scaffolding company or the other companies with the same address. And because she had only been hired recently, she said, she couldn’t confirm that either John Galt or Webster Development also shared space there or who headed those companies.

Calls to Regional Scaffolding/Webster Development requesting comment and clarification were not returned.

Since the fire, Greg Blinn, in other newspapers, has repeatedly said he can’t comment on the Deutsche Bank project because of his contract with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which owns and controls the building at 130 Liberty St.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.