An MSU researcher could face federal prosecution in connection with the alleged disappearance of pig bacteria that occurred in September.
Multiple charges might be forthcoming against the unnamed researcher, said Bob Huggett, vice president for research and graduate studies at MSU. The university expects the U.S. Attorney's office to file the indictment by next week.
The possible prosecution comes after an FBI and police investigation last fall into the disappearance of notebooks, computer disks and a sample of actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae - a deadly bacteria that causes pneumonia-like symptoms in pigs.
But investigators concluded the "missing" bacteria never existed, he said. Using a $650,000 federal grant, the researcher was supposed to find a vaccine for the bacteria, Huggett said. Not all of the money - an undetermined amount - was spent.
"It's a tragedy," Huggett said. "This is the worst nightmare that researchers could have."
Before an indictment is handed down, the U.S. Attorney's office will likely file a complaint or seek more information, said Richard Licht, the FBI's supervisory senior agent for Lansing.
After completing the investigation in October, the case was forwarded to the U.S. Attorney's office, which requested MSU hold off its own internal investigation until the indictment procedures were over and the "criminal matter was settled," Licht said.
Huggett said MSU identified the individual it believed responsible within 24 hours through security precautions at the Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building, where the materials were reported stolen.
Parts of the building use a card access security system.
Huggett said the university is "poised and waiting to commence an internal investigation." Depending on the severity of the researcher's charges, the university could fire the employee.
The researcher's materials were reported missing during the overnight hours of Sept. 12 into Sept. 13 from a secured room in the building.
After the initial investigation, authorities warned Michigan veterinarians of a possible outbreak of the disease, which is not transmittable to humans.
In December, the Michigan Department of Agriculture notified swine veterinary practitioners "that the attempted development of a vaccine for (the bacteria) by a researcher at Michigan State University was fraudulent," according to Phyllis Fong, inspector general of the United States Department of Agriculture.
On Wednesday, members of a congressional subcommittee heard a testimony from Fong detailing the investigation and the department's findings.
Melissa Sanchez can be reached at sanche96@msu.edu.
