Halliburton manager gets probation for destroying evidence after Gulf spill
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
The Associated Press
Jan. 21, 2014
New Orleans • A former Halliburton manager apologized to his family and friends Tuesday before a federal judge sentenced him to one year of probation for destroying evidence in the aftermath of BP’s massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Anthony Badalamenti, of Katy, Texas, had faced a maximum of one year in prison at his sentencing by U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey. Badalamenti pleaded guilty in October to one misdemeanor count of destruction of evidence.
The 62-year-old also has to perform 100 hours of community service and pay a $1,000 fine.
Badalamenti was the cementing technology director for Halliburton Energy Services Inc., BP’s cement contractor on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. Prosecutors said he instructed two Halliburton employees to delete data during a post-spill review of the cement job on BP’s blown-out Macondo well.
The judge said that the sentence of probation is "very reasonable in this case."
"I still feel that you’re a very honorable man," he told Badalamenti. "I have no doubt that you’ve learned from this mistake."
Badalamenti expressed remorse for causing "undue stress" on his relatives and friends.
"I am truly sorry for what I did," he said.
Tai Park, one of Badalamenti’s lawyers, said his client had believed that the deleted data could be recreated and could be discarded.
"It did not involve any criminal intent. It did not involve any loss, but it did involve a misjudgment," Park told Zainey.
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