UM Grace Case

Friday morning, the jury unanimously found W.R. Grace not guilty on all counts. The jury also found defendants Jack Wolter, Henry Eschenbach, and Robert Bettacchi not guilty.
– Laura Lundquist

The case against W.R. Grace and five of its former executives – now excluding William McCaig and Robert Walsh who were recently acquitted – was handed over to the jury Wednesday evening after nearly 10 hours of closing arguments from five separate attorneys. The trial, which began on Feb. 19, has been ongoing for nearly [...]

In a jury trial, the attorneys are allowed two opportunities to speak directly to the seated jury, during the opening and closing arguments. Closing arguments are generally limited to reviewing the evidence admitted at trial, go over jury instructions, or emphasize important points in the case which may have been missed or forgotten. It is [...]

Wednesday morning, the prosecution packaged its entire case into three hours for the jury, connecting specific evidence with each of the eight counts against W.R. Grace and the remaining three defendants. Government attorney Kris McLean covered the conspiracy count, followed by attorney Kevin Cassidy outlining the remaining counts of knowing endangerment and obstruction of [...]

Attorneys representing Robert Bettacchi called several witnesses Tuesday morning in order to discuss the export plant that W.R. Grace & Co. donated to the city of Libby, and Mel Parker’s purchase of the screening plant from Grace.
Thomas Frongillo, representing Robert Bettacchi, said that Parker was called to testify again because additional information had surfaced [...]

Judge Donald Molloy ruled Tuesday morning that he would not dismiss the W.R. Grace case for alleged prosecutorial misconduct. The understated announcement came after the prosecution had completed its response to the arguments for dismissal or acquittal made by the defense  Monday.
Molloy also ruled that Robert Locke, the former Grace executive who was a [...]

The government dismissed all charges against Robert C. Walsh Monday afternoon.Walsh is a former vice president of W.R. Grace and one of seven company executives originally indicted on federal charges in 2005.
“With respect to Mr. Walsh,” McLean told Molloy in front of a jam-packed courtroom, “The government can not prove its case without a [...]

Witness Robert Locke found himself accused of perjury and theft in a fierce cross-examination by defense attorney Thomas Frongillo Thursday afternoon.
Frongillo, representing defendant Robert Bettacchi, alleged that Locke had lied to the jury about a conversation he supposedly had with Bettacchi and that he had stolen company documents.
In his cross-examination, Frongillo suggested that Grace documents [...]

When a black Crown Victoria rolled to a stop in front of Robert Locke’s house and three government officials stepped out, he knew it was serious.
It was the first time Locke, a former W.R. Grace employee, had heard about the criminal case against the chemical company and seven of its top jobholders.
“I was surprised by [...]