'Plague Prof.' Convicted Of Lesser

Lied About Missing Plague Bacteria Vials, Sparked Bioterrorism Panic

(AP)  A professor who reported plague samples missing from his Texas Tech University lab has been cleared of the most serious charges he faced after causing a bioterrorism scare.

Renowned researcher Thomas Butler, 62, was convicted of 47 charges, but most stemmed from an investigation separate from the plague scare.

The jury acquitted Butler of 22 charges accusing him of smuggling and illegally transporting the potentially deadly germ, as well as lying to federal agents.

The charges stemmed from his report to police Jan. 14 that 30 vials of the potentially deadly plague bacteria were missing from his lab. FBI agents rushed to Lubbock to investigate the scare.

In a statement written later, Butler said he accidentally destroyed the samples. However, during his trial he testified that he had no clear memory of destroying the vials but that they could have been destroyed during his cleanup of an accident in January.

Butler declined to comment after the verdict.

The jury of nine men and three women also cleared him of smuggling plague samples into the United States in April 2002 and illegally transporting them to federal facilities.

"We are pleased that Tom was found not guilty of lying to the FBI. We are particularly pleased the jury found him not guilty of perpetuating a hoax regarding his report of the missing plague vials," defense lawyer Chuck Meadows said.

Prosecutor Bob Webster said Butler's misdeeds were troubling: "It remains a real tragedy that a researcher who had so much to give to this country could get so far off the track."

Butler was found guilty of 44 theft, embezzlement, fraud, and mail and wire fraud charges pertaining to shadow contracts prosecutors claimed he had illegally negotiated with pharmaceutical companies with which he also had clinical studies contracts. He was acquitted of 10 similar charges.

Those 54 charges were part of an indictment alleging Butler received $320,675 from two pharmaceutical companies to conduct clinical trials on drugs to treat Type 2 diabetes and severe sepsis, an often-fatal infection of the bloodstream, without Texas Tech's knowledge.

Butler faces up to 240 years in prison on the 47 convictions, but the punishment will be far less under federal sentencing guidelines. He also faces fines up to $11.7 million. No sentencing date was set.