Last W.R. Grace Exec Is Dismissed in Criminal Trial

A federal judge has dismissed criminal charges alleging O. Mario Favorito, in-house counsel for W.R. Grace & Co., knowingly endangered employees and the residents of Libby, Mont., through asbestos exposure.

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of the District of Montana granted the federal government's motion to dismiss the superseding indictment of the last defendant in the case in light of last month's not-guilty verdicts for W.R. Grace and three of its former executives.

Favorito's case was severed from the main trial in 2006, and he was scheduled to be tried this September.

The government charged the W.R. Grace defendants in 2005 with conspiracy, wire fraud and criminal violations of the Clean Air Act in connection with asbestos contamination from a company mine in Libby.

According to the indictment, Grace opened the vermiculite mine in 1963. Vermiculite is a naturally occurring mineral that may contain asbestos.

Vermiculite formerly was used in various commercial products such as potting soil, fertilizer, attic insulation and fireproofing.

Internal company studies from the late 1970s indicated that the asbestos contamination posed a major health hazard, but Grace concealed the studies and their findings from the public, the Justice Department said.

After the federal government started investigating the problem in Libby in 1999, it found that 1,200 residents in the area had asbestos-related health problems.

The Justice Department said Grace closed the mine in 1990 and sold its properties without disclosing that they were contaminated with asbestos.

On May 8 a jury exonerated the company and former executives Robert Bettachi, Henry Eshenbach and Jack Wolter after a three-month trial.

Last year the company agreed in a civil settlement to pay $250 million for environmental cleanup in Libby. Additionally, it has proposed a $3 billion agreement to settle all present and future asbestos-related personal injury claims. The settlement was filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

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