The top executive charged in a chemical spill that left 300,000 people without drinking water lied about his role with the company to protect his personal wealth of nearly $8 million from lawsuits, according to an FBI affidavit, the Associated Press reported yesterday. In bankruptcy court hearings and meetings, former Freedom Industries President Gary Southern repeatedly said that he had little to do with the company before it was sold a few weeks prior to the January chemical spill. But an FBI affidavit said that Southern had overseen day-to-day operations at the chemical storage company, hired employees and executed contracts for several years, according to a complaint unsealed on Monday. Southern negotiated the sale of Freedom Industries to Chemstream Holdings Inc. just weeks before the spill, and discussed how much money would be set aside to deal with necessary repairs at the site, the complaint said. Investigators discovered holes in tanks, shoddy last-resort containment walls and other deficiencies. Southern, who has previously denied wrongdoing, faces charges of bankruptcy fraud, wire fraud and lying under oath. If convicted of all the charges, he faces up to 30 years in prison.
