U.S. Opens Criminal Probe in Exxon Spill

A federal grand jury has been convened to consider possible criminal charges in the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the FBI confirmed Friday.

“I can’t deny a grand jury has been convened,” FBI special agent Tom Matthews said. “Subpoenas have been served.

“We’re just in the beginning. The investigation has just started.”

The U.S. Justice Department investigation is centered on possible criminal violations of the federal Clean Water Act.

Matthews said he could not report how many subpoenas have been issued or identify targets of the grand jury inquiry. He said he was not free to report whether the investigation had gone beyond possible violations of the Clean Water Act.

Sources said that many of the same witnesses who testified before the National Transportation Safety Board last week in Anchorage have been subpoenaed.

Exxon Valdez tanker crew members and Exxon Shipping Co. President Frank Iarossi were among 10 Exxon employees who testified at the safety board inquiry, which was trying to determine the cause of the March 24 tanker accident.

The 987-foot tanker hit a reef, cracked open and spilled about 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound. The oil flowed unchecked into the Gulf of Alaska, coating more than 728 miles of shoreline and covering more than 3,000 square miles of water. Thousands of animals have died.

Some of the crew members subpoenaed for the safety board hearing in Anchorage were also summoned by a state grand jury that indicted the tanker’s skipper Monday, and they now have to return to Alaska for further testimony. The Exxon witnesses are from various other states.

So far, only Capt. Joseph Hazelwood, 42, of Huntington, N. Y., has been charged with any crimes. He faces a three-count state felony charge of criminal mischief and three misdemeanors.

Because Hazelwood faces criminal charges, he has refused to talk to investigators. He is free on $50,000 bail.

The FBI and Alaska prosecutors are conducting separate investigations, said Matthews and Mary Anne Henry, an assistant district attorney in the state.

Many civil suits have been filed against Exxon by fishermen and others, and the state of Alaska is expected to file a civil action.