Thomas Butler, who was convicted of 47 counts in Federal Court related to his handling of the bubonic plague bacteria as well as his illegal financial dealings, has voluntarily relinquished his medical license, according to an article in Lubbockonline.com. He was scheduled to have had a hearing before the Texas Board of Medical Examiners on January 20, but it isn't clear whether the hearing actually took place. At any rate, a forfeiture of his license was probably a foregone conclusion, and perhaps he and his attorney wanted to save some time and expense.
Finally, Texas Tech will discontinue paying him his $130,467 annual salary. Butler and Tech appear to have reached a settlement in which Butler has agreed to pay Texas Tech an undisclosed sum of money, and he was allowed to resign from employment with the school. Link.
"With this settlement, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center considers all internal matters with Dr. Butler resolved and will pursue no further actions. We wish Dr. Butler well," the statement says.
I reported on the trial as it progressed, and for a review and chronology, go here.
Thanks to Dr. Roberts at Gruntdoc.com for the heads-up. And, it's useful to remember Dr. Roberts' insightful observation that the authorities would be well advised to keep close tabs on Dr. Butler's communications while he's in prison as he would be the go-to guy for anyone wanting to learn the tricks of the bubonic plague trade.
Afterthought: 2/10/04: Just what does it take to fire a college professor? Dr. Butler was allowed to continue drawing his salary for roughly a year after the problem became apparent. I suppose the school wanted to wait until after the trial so they could take advantage of the prosecutors evidence. But, what if an O.J. type jury had acquitted him? Would he have been able to keep his job? Just wondering.
Sometimes I do really think what would he get by doing all this?
Posted by: Jenni | December 20, 2005 at 03:57 AM