A jury has found former BP rig supervisor Robert Kaluza not guilty of a misdemeanor pollution charge arising from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico rig explosion and oil spill.
Kaluza was tried on a single charge of violating the federal Clean Water Act.
Prosecutors said Kaluza and Donald Vidrine, another rig supervisor, botched a “negative pressure test” and missed clear signs of trouble before an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig.
The April 2010 blast caused millions of gallons of oil to spew from the Gulf floor for weeks.
Kaluza and Vidrine once faced manslaughter charges in connection with the deaths of 11 workers on the rig. But federal prosecutors later backed away from those charges. Vidrine pleaded guilty to the Clean Water Act misdemeanor.
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