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Posted on 01/16/2003 11:02:33 AM PST by kattracks
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- A university professor at the center of a scare over missing plague bacteria told the FBI he lied when he said 30 vials of the deadly bacteria had disappeared because he had accidentally destroyed them, according to court documents.
Dr. Thomas C. Butler was arrested Wednesday on a complaint of giving false information to the FBI about the vials. He was scheduled to appear in court Thursday afternoon.
The FBI said in documents filed in support of its criminal complaint that Butler gave agents a handwritten note in which he admitted lying to his supervisor about the vials.
"I made a misjudgment by not telling (the supervisor) that the plague bacteria had been accidentally destroyed earlier rather than erronneously first found missing," Butler wrote, according to the FBI.
In the note, Butler said he knew the bacteria had been destroyed and was not a threat to public health, and he didn't realize his story would trigger "such an extensive investigation."
When news spread about the missing vials, the anxiety was palpable. Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge contacted the mayor, a terrorism alert was triggered and dozens of investigators from the FBI and other agencies converged on Texas Tech University.
According to U.S. Attorney Dick Baker, Butler said Tuesday that vials containing bacteria obtained from tissue samples from East Africa were missing when "truth in fact, as he well knew, he had destroyed them prior to that."
"We have accounted for all those missing vials and we have determined that there is no danger to public safety whatsoever," Lubbock FBI Lupe Gonzalez said Wednesday.
Authorities have declined to elaborate on what happened to the vials or say why or how Butler may have destroyed the bacteria.
The samples, among 180 the school was using for research on the treatment of plague, were reported missing to campus police Tuesday night. Butler was the only person with authorized access to the bacteria, which is classified as a select agent that has to be registered with the International Biohazards Committee and with the federal government.
University spokeswoman Cindy Rugeley said Butler, the project's principal investigator, made the report.
Butler is chief of the infectious diseases division of the department of internal medicine at Texas Tech's medical school. The university said he has been involved in plague research for more than 25 years and is internationally recognized in the field. He has been at Texas Tech since 1987.
Dr. Richard Homan, Texas Tech School of Medicine dean, said the bacteria form of plague being used for research "was not weaponized in any way."
Baker said FBI agents interviewed Butler on Tuesday. He said the complaint noted the false statement resulted in a huge investigation involving about 60 state, local and federal agents.
The public did not learn of the report of missing vials until early Wednesday. But hospitals and medical personnel were notified Tuesday, part of the city's post-Sept. 11 emergency plan.
Samples were kept in a locked area of Butler's lab, which is not in a high-traffic area. Butler kept logs on batches of samples, and one batch was reported missing, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
The secure area does not have a surveillance camera but access is controlled, officials said.
"I don't know the precise number (of keys), but it's limited," said Texas Tech Chancellor David Smith. "Policy (for federal grants) was not violated. This is one where we're looking at the human element."
Plague -- along with anthrax, smallpox and a few other deadly agents -- is on a watch list distributed by the government, which wants to make sure doctors and hospitals recognize a biological attack quickly.
Health officials say 10 to 20 people in the United States contract plague each year, usually through infected fleas or rodents. The plague can be treated with antibiotics, but about one in seven U.S. cases is fatal.
I hope they fired the guy at least.
And that brings us to "Where" did the anthrax come from. Was it part of a supposedly "destroyed" cache??? Let's see who destroyed what and when!!
His statement that he didn't know that the loss of 30 vials would cause such a stir makes ABSOLUTELY no sense.
There are a few terms in common use that get attention immediately: smallpox, plutonium, nerve gas, black death.
No doubt our liberal professor was far to busy focusing on the next Blonde Freshman he could nail to the mattress to pay attention to just how serious the rest of the friggin planet thinks Bubonic plague actually is.
"When news spread about the missing vials, the anxiety was palpable. Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge contacted the mayor, a terrorism alert was triggered and dozens of investigators from the FBI and other agencies converged on Texas Tech University."
LOL...reality walked into his World and he was floored! Idiot. You're fired....and under arrest.
Putz.
He didn’t realize it would trigger such an extensive investigation? What’s this “Dr’s” IQ? Is he nuts? Perhaps he has too much of that high plains dust in his brain.
Butler is chief of the infectious diseases division of the department of internal medicine at Texas Tech's medical school. The university said he has been involved in plague research for more than 25 years and is internationally recognized in the field. He has been at Texas Tech since 1987.
I read a few years back that of the 50 some odd medical schools in the US that this was the lowest rated. Now I understand why.
Dr. Richard Homan, Texas Tech School of Medicine dean, said the bacteria form of plague being used for research "was not weaponized in any way."
I hope that is correct.
Makes me wonder if they were really destroyed.
I wonder what his affiliations are.
The interesting part is that there doesn't appear to be any speculation at this time and one can only wonder where it is going.
I tried to find Butler on the web and found very little....I thought it was interesting that he was not noted many times. These guys love to write papers. It is the highlight of their work. As secret as it may be, they publish, publish, publish.
I'm wondering if there's any connection to Don C. Wiley, the scientist whom they found in the Mississippi, hundreds of miles away from where he supposedly FELL into the Mississippi. I'm trying to match the times with the outbreak of the Plague in the Texas dogs noted by Mr. Butler in an article. Surely Wiley would have had some thoughts on this.
The interesting part is that there doesn't appear to be any speculation at this time and one can only wonder where it is going.
I tried to find Butler on the web and found very little....I though it was interesting that he was not noted many times. These guys love to write papers. It is the highlight of their work. As secret as it may be, they publish, publish, publish.
I'm wondering if there's any connection to Don C. Wiley, the scientist whom they found in the Mississippi, hundreds of miles away from where he supposedly FELL into the Mississippi. I'm trying to match the times with the outbreak of the Plague in the Texas dogs noted by Mr. Butler in an article. Surely Wiley would have had some thoughts on this.
I would say, don't hold your breath. That magic word TENURE is likely to save his butt. In CA a tenured professor can only be fired if he/she is CONVICTED of a felony.
It's a positively Byzantine practice.
Am not buying this
The reporters don't seem to be asking this question, or even mentioning they asked and didn't get an answer.
Leni
Update_
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