Two Years After BP Gulf Disaster, First Criminal Charges Arrive

A former BP engineer has been arrested for deleting text messages which discussed the real scale of the spill.

By Julianne Hing Apr 24, 2012

It only took two years, but the Department of Justice has made its first arrest for the BP Gulf Coast oil spill, the largest oil spill to originate in the U.S.. And it’s over text messages which contained key information essential for gauging the criminal fines that BP will face. The [AP](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5joUEEYHQo3C8dkIfmhtCDu3wCFIg?docId=aa334f6f6aed4a3c8e2d42abe1e90a18) reports: > A BP engineer intentionally deleted more than 300 text messages saying the company’s efforts to control the Gulf of Mexico oil spill were failing, and that the amount of oil leaking was far more than what the company reported, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday. > > In the first criminal charges related to the deadly explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig in April 2010, the Justice Department arrested Kurt Mix and charged him with two counts of obstruction of justice for allegedly destroying evidence sought by federal authorities, officials announced in a statement.