BP to Pay $4.5 Billion for Gulf Disaster, Two Workers Face Manslaughter Charges

Mere hours after announcing that BP would pay a $4.5 billion settlement to the US Government over the 2010 Gulf oil spill disaster, two former employees have been charge with manslaughter, and a third with making false statements to federal investigators. Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine, BP well site leaders in the Gulf at the time, are currently charged with negligence for not performing proper safety tests before the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 workers. David Rainey, former vice president of BP’s Gulf of Mexico exploration, will face false statement charges with obstruction of Congress tacked on for good measure. The company has five years to pay their fine, which is the largest corporate criminal penalty ever imposed. [CBS]