A Manhattan judge yesterday upheld the manslaughter indictment against crane-company owner James Frank Lomma, meaning charges that he recklessly caused a fatal 2008 collapse by putting a cheaply refurbished crane in service on East 91st Street can now proceed to trial later this year.

Lomma, 65, and his former mechanic, Tibor Varganyi, 64, are charged in the case, along with Lomma’s companies, New York Crane and Equipment and J.F. Lomma Inc.

The collapse, which killed two workers, has been blamed on the failure of a cheaply done weld in the crane’s pivoting joint.