The scandal-scarred subcontractor fired from the Deutsche Bank demolition job after two firefighters died in an August fire is demanding to be paid $19.6 million for the work, according a new lawsuit.

The John Galt Corp. filed suit in Manhattan Supreme Court last week against the bond companies for the general contractor overseeing the demolition, Bovis Lend Lease.

"John Galt fully performed all the work and furnished all of the labor, material, and equipment requested by Bovis" according to the suit.

On Aug. 18, Firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino died on the 14th floor of the bank building after they ran low on air and became overwhelmed in the thick smoke.

Fire investigators found that Galt workers had cut a standpipe critical to the building's sprinkler system, preventing water from reaching the fire.

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has launched a wide-ranging criminal probe and has executed search warrants at the office of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., Bovis and Galt.

Questions have also arisen as to why Galt was given the job. The company had little demolition experience and close ties to Safeway Environmental, which is run by an alleged Gambino family associate.

And despite specific rules forbidding it, on-site smoking - the cause of the deadly blaze - was said to be routine.

In addition, five days after the inferno, two more of New York's bravest were injured when a Galt employee dropped a 300-pound pallet from the building's 23rd floor.

The company claims the value of the work was about $74 million.
Bovis and its bond company refused to comment on the litigation.