PITTSBURGH, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- A University of Pittsburgh genetics researcher was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation and fined $500 Monday for giving out biological materials.
Dr. Robert E. Ferrell pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of "mailing an injurious article" in October and was facing up to six months in prison and a $5,000 fine, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
Ferrell's attorney, Efrem M. Grail, said his client was relieved by the sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara of the Western District of New York.
"As his attorney, we thought the disposition the government offered was generous," said Grail.
Ferrell was originally charged with four felony counts, including mail and wire fraud, after helping Steven A. Kurtz, a former art professor at Carnegie Mellon University, procure serratia marcescens and bacillus atrophaeus, both of which cannot be legally obtained without special permission, for a science art show.
