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Scientist found with suspicious item at airport did prison time for plague sample flap -- A world-renowned Texas scientist specializing in infectious diseases who was once charged with smuggling dangerous samples of plague bacteria into the U.S. was questioned by authorities after a suspicious item found in his luggage caused a massive evacuation at Miami International Airport Thursday night. Dr. Thomas C. Butler, 70, was questioned by agents with the FBI and Miami-Dade police Friday after a suspicious item was found in his checked luggage by a MIA baggage screener Thursday night, sources told NBC Miami.... Friday, it was learned...

Plagued by fear: First of seven parts Dr. Thomas Butler was the government's go-to guy if you were worried about a plague attack - and in the hair-trigger months after Sept. 11, 2001, a lot of federal officials were. For parts of three decades, he had treated the Black Death's bloated victims in the Third World. He'd plumbed the bacteria's dark secrets in university labs in Cleveland, and later in Lubbock, Texas, searching for better ways to blunt its lethal kiss. After Jan. 11, 2003, none of that mattered. Sunday, March 26, 2006 John Mangels Plain Dealer Science On a...

Sep 3, 2010 2:20 AM CDT - A passenger has been arrested after something suspicious in his checked luggage triggered a shutdown of Miami International Airport last night. Four of six terminals and airport roadways have been closed,

One man is in custody and Miami International Airport is back open this morning after a suspicious device caused a major evacuation and shutdown Thursday night. The security scare happened just after 9 p.m., when a baggage screener spotted a suspicious item in a checked piece of luggage in the Customs area. -snip- A video of what is believed to be part of the suspicious device showed a silver canister, though police haven't confirmed what was found. Police also haven't released the identity of the man taken into custody, but airport officials said he had been on a flight from...

PLAGUED BY FEAR: Second of seven parts Vials reported missing and feds swarm in Previously: At a time when the government was on alert for bioterrorism attacks, Texas Tech University researcher Dr. Thomas Butler was working with federal officials to confirm the effectiveness of an antibiotic against plague. On Jan. 11, 2003, Butler discovered that 30 vials of plague bacteria from his laboratory were missing. Monday, March 27, 2006 John Mangels Plain Dealer Reporter The day was almost over when the astonishing phone call came in to the Lubbock FBI office. It was Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2003, around 5 p.m....

Thomas Butler was a sought-after plague expert, with a clinical trial in Tanzania that promised important results for biodefense. Then he was charged with mishandling plague samples and lying to the FBI. This month, a jury convicted him of financial wrongdoing. Who is Thomas Butler, and what lessons do his trials hold? Sitting on an airplane preparing to take off from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, American microbiologist Thomas Butler had some time to reflect on his rising fortunes. Stowed in the plane's belly was a footlocker containing carefully packed specimens from more than 60 Tanzanian bubonic plague victims. His journal...

SYNOPSIS: Microbiologist Thomas Butler faces 69 criminal charges in federal court, including lying to the FBI about 30 vials of plague bacteria that went missing from his laboratory at Texas Tech. If convicted on all counts, he could be fined $17 million and be sentenced to up to 469 years in prison. Allies in the scientific community say that Butler is the victim of prosecutorial overkill. But the government says Butler broke rules designed to protect the nation against bioterrorism. Observers say the outcome could have a big impact on life science researchers working with potentially dangerous agents. ***** It...

The human rights committee of the National Academy of Sciences is protesting the government's treatment of a researcher who faces trial on charges of smuggling vials of live plague bacteria from Tanzania and lying to federal agents about them. The scientist, Dr. Thomas C. Butler, a leading plague researcher who is chief of the infectious diseases division at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, set off a scare in January, when he reported 30 vials of bacteria missing. Later, Dr, Butler told F.B.I. agents that the vials might have already been destroyed, according to the bureau's affidavit. He was arrested and...