Halliburton Admits It Broke the Law, Pays the Cost Of a Nice Car in Fines

First it was the banks who admitted they broke the law, yet no one was arrested and no one was held accountable — just some fines that amounted to less than one quarter's profit. 

Now it is Halliburton. 

Halliburton Energy Services has agreed to plead guilty and pay the maximum fine for destroying evidence in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the company and the Justice Department said Thursday.

Besides agreeing to pay a $200,000 fine, Halliburton accepted three years' probation for its guilty plea to one misdemeanor count related to deletion of records. In return, the Justice Department stipulated that it won't pursue further charges in the April 2010 explosion at the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico, which killed 11 rig workers and caused the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

In a statement Thursday night, Halliburton noted that the Justice Department "acknowledged the company's significant and valuable cooperation during the course of its investigation, and the company has agreed to continue to cooperate ... in any ongoing investigation related to or arising from the incident."

What?!

Except for that little thing about destroying evidence, Halliburton was wonderful. U.S. taxpayers had to fork over millions, but Halliburton just a measly $200K. No harm, no foul. 

Halliburton has voluntarily contributed $55 million to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation that was not part of the court’s acceptance of its plea agreement. Well, isn't that big of them? 

If corporations are people, why aren't they subject to arrest and a trial by a jury of their peers? When people commit crimes they go to jail. When corporations commit crimes, they pay a pittance in fines.