Professor Is Indicted in Plague Smuggling Case
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A professor was indicted on federal charges accusing him of smuggling plague bacteria and lying when he said vials of the dangerous germ had disappeared from a Texas Tech University lab in January.
Thomas C. Butler, 61, triggered a terrorism alert when he said 30 vials of the bacteria were missing. The FBI rushed dozens of agents to Lubbock. The professor later told the FBI he made a “misjudgment” by telling school authorities the vials were missing when he had destroyed them, according to court documents.
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