Federal jury to hear case against ex-BP engineer
Source: Associated Press
Federal jury to hear case against ex-BP engineer
AP foreign, Tuesday December 3 2013
MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
Associated Press= NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jury selection began Monday for the Justice Department's case against a former BP drilling engineer charged with deleting text messages and voicemails about the company's response to its massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Dozens of potential jurors filled a New Orleans courtroom for the start of Kurt Mix's federal trial, which is expected to last up to three weeks. Attorneys could give their opening statements as early as Tuesday.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Mix, 52, of Katy, Texas, was indicted last year on two counts of obstruction of justice. Prosecutors claim he deliberately deleted strings of text messages to and from a supervisor and a BP PLC contractor to hamper a grand jury's investigation of the spill.
Mix is one of four current or former BP employees charged with crimes related to the nation's worst offshore oil spill. His case is the first to be tried.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/11092616