MISSOULA – A federal judge has dismissed charges against another defendant in the case alleging environmental crimes by W.R. Grace & Co. and several former executives.
William McCaig was dismissed Thursday at the request of the prosecution. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy granted the request immediately, and McCaig and his legal team then left the courtroom.
On Monday, Molloy dismissed former executive Robert Walsh as a defendant, also at the request of prosecutors.
The dismissals leave three former executives and Grace as defendants in the case alleging they knowingly allowed human exposure to asbestos from a vermiculite mine Grace operated near Libby. The mine closed in 1990. Lawyers for some Libby residents blame asbestos for sickening about 2,000 people in and around the community, and for the deaths of about 225.