Top BP Official Aboard Oil Rig Might Refuse To Speak at Hearing

"A top BP official aboard the oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April was expected to refuse to speak at a federal hearing Tuesday.

Robert Kaluza, BP’s “company man,” a representative of the oil company’s interests on the rig, on Monday afternoon was said to be invoking his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself, investigators said, but noted that he could change his mind by the time he is set to testify Tuesday morning.

On Monday, Wyman Wheeler, an employee of rig owner Transocean, was said to be absent because of an illness. Tyrone Benton, who works for Oceaneering, which makes robot submarines, did not show up Monday afternoon, and no excuse was announced."

Rong-Gong Lin II reports for the Greenspace blog in the L.A. Times from Kenner, La., July 19, 2010,