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.
Sounds definitely fishy.
Reading his letter as it stands, it looks like a suicide note. Did anyone else question the "note" rather than a "statement" given to the FBI?????
Regardless, he had no reason to not report the loss to his Supervisor excepting that he had a "bigger" reason for not reporting it. Since the vials were HELD IN HIS LAB, who would know???
Must have been a tipster someplace. Maybe more to this than meets the eye..the guy has already been arrested. No Hanky Panky, waiting around in this scenario. Now let's find out if he has had "protection" shots for it which are the same basics as Anthrax I believe and when.
This guy is handling 30 vials of plague bacteria so cavalierly as to "accidentally destroy them"?!?
He may not be guilty of anything beyond negligence, but he for damn sure doesn't seem competent to be playing with this stuff.
Yes..dont be suprised if you suddenly hear of some cases of bubonic plague creeping up. Who knows what he actually did with the vials, could have sold them for all we know. All we know is the FBI does not actually have the vials in their possession but have HIM instead.
Right neither does much else in this story.
Something is very wrong here. This man has been the spokesman when Bubonic Plague turned up in the Texas area not too far back....and a couple different times I think.
They are also saying that these samples which were brought into the country by him may not have been documented properly.
I'm guessing that this guy did not squeal on himself but that there was some suspicion on him prior to this.
Boy, they are sure trying not to arouse us but are sure shorting us on "solid information" as to the status of the vials.
Could Butler have any connection with Don C. Wiley's demise. I wonder if Butler was at the same convention?? That happened November 16th, 2001. Wiley wound up 300 miles down the Mississippi, a hell of a lot closer to Texas than Memphis. Where's Texas Tech located??
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