Breaking - Source: BP Expected to Admit Criminal Conduct in 2010 Spill

[Hissyspit]

Last edited Thu Nov 15, 2012, 07:57 AM - Edit history (2)

Source: Reuters

By Chris Baltimore

HOUSTON (Reuters) - BP Plc is expected to plead guilty to criminal misconduct in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster through a plea agreement it has reached with the U.S. Department of Justice that may be announced as soon as Thursday, according to two sources familiar with discussions.

The sources, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said that BP will plead guilty in exchange for a waiver of future prosecution on the charges.

- snip -

It is unclear what form of criminal misconduct BP will plead guilty to. In an August filing, the Department of Justice said "reckless management" of the Macondo well "constituted gross negligence and willful misconduct," which it intended to prove at a pending civil trial set to begin in New Orleans in February 2013.

It is also unclear whether the deal will resolve any civil charges brought by the Justice Department, and how large a financial penalty BP might pay to resolve them.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE8AE08F20121115

---

@Reuters: NEWSFLASH: BP agreement with Justice Department will include largest criminal penalty in U.S. history - source

[OnyxCollie]

1. Come on, don't let me down.

I want to see bp nailed to the wall.

[marybourg]

2. does that mean it will go to prison, and

forfeit its civil rights?

[Volaris]

4. Prision is for POOR PEOPLE.

BP is a RICH PERSON

The operative word being PERSON...

Fuckers. I want their company either disbanded (if they have a BP America registered somewhere) or banned from selling product in this country, and then see ALL their American assets siezed by the Feds, sold for the profit of the Public Square, and then split between the States who have coast on the Gulf. THAT would be a fitting punishment.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. "a waiver of future prosecution on the charges. "

uhhh...those 11 dead oil workers...any crime there????

Sadly, I am not at all surprised.

[bluedigger]

5. So does that mean they will just get sentenced to "time served"?

[RobertEarl]

6. Time will tell

There are some stories buried deep at the well head that tell a tale of fractured rock which is leaking oil.

The fractured rock, so the story goes, is because the well was never sealed properly. There have been efforts to get a new sub to go down and post vids but so far no go. Are they hiding something? Still?

[4lbs]

7. Well, there's a shocker, considering how BP bullied the platform operator into continuing drilling

instead of taking the safety steps required that would have prevented such a disaster.

They (BP) were more interested in the profits from $120 per barrel oil than safety.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. "a record fine of between $3bn and $5bn", "up to four BP staff will be arrested"

BP is set to receive a record fine of between $3bn and $5bn (£1.9bn-£3.2bn) to settle criminal charges related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, the BBC has learnt.

It will be the biggest criminal penalty in US history, BBC business editor Robert Peston says.

The settlement with the Department of Justice involves BP pleading guilty to criminal charges.

It is thought that up to four BP staff will be arrested, Robert Peston says.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20336898

[dipsydoodle]

9. $4 billion to be paid over 5 years

according to Bloomberg - just breaking.

Two to face mansslaughter chrages.

[dipsydoodle]

10. Update

BP gets record US criminal fine over Deepwater disaster.

BP has received the biggest criminal penalty in US history as part of a $4.5bn (£2.8bn) settlement related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, in which 11 people died.

The Department of Justice has imposed a $4bn fine, to be paid over five years.

BP will pay an additional $525m to the Securities and Exchange Commission over a period of three years, the firm said.

The settlement with the Department of Justice (DoJ) involves BP pleading guilty to 14 criminal charges.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20336898

[byeya]

11. Reports from the site indicate the blowout is still leaking. How can the gov't settle when it's

probably an ongoing, damaging event?

Manslaughter? With all the safety violations? Only two people?

I don't care if it's the largest settlement in US history; I would prefer a court trail in a federal court along the Gulf Coast with all the details brought into the open.

[dipsydoodle]

12. Defense lawyers say BP rig workers are scapegoats

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- While BP has resolved a sweeping criminal probe of its role in the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, two company employees charged in the deaths of 11 rig workers claim the Justice Department is trying to make them scapegoats for the disaster.

Attorneys for the highest-ranking BP employees aboard the Deepwater Horizon during the deadly explosion in April 2010 vowed to fight manslaughter charges against their clients. According to the indictment unsealed Thursday, Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine are accused of disregarding abnormal high-pressure readings that should have been glaring indications of trouble just before the blowout.

Vidrine's attorney, Bob Habans, said in a statement that prosecutors showed "exceedingly poor judgment" in charging his 65-year-old client.

"It is almost inconceivable that any fair-minded person would blame this hard-working and diligent man for one of the most catastrophic events in the history of the oil business," Habans said in a statement.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GULF_OIL_SPILL_SETTLEMENT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-11-16-05-23-00

[Nihil]

13. Bit stronger that the treatment of Exxon, Chevron, Texaco eh?

And disgustingly sharp contrast to the treatment of those responsible for a disaster
that killed between 3800 & 8000 people (maiming & injuring far more) rather than
just 11 ... but I suppose that a bit of property damage & livelihood loss is worth
so much more than mere foreign lives ...

(Every US administration since the event has stonewalled & actively protected
Warren Anderson, the CEO responsible for the Bhopal disaster nearly 30 years ago.
Justice? Yeah, right.)

[Hula Popper]

14. We treat these bassturds too lightly

There should be prison sentences, huge fines (75%) of earnings for 2010 and then nationalization of all BP property here in US.
Yes I hate enviromental criminals and their represenatives.
Enjoy the day!

[Myrina]

15. keep the checkbook open ... just in time for today's explosion ...

(I haven't seen reports on who's rig/platform it was, though)