BP
A federal judge has appointed former FBI Director Louis Freeh to conduct an independent investigation of alleged misconduct by a lawyer who worked for the court-supervised administrator of BP's multibillion-dollar settlement along with a team of private attorneys.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier issued an order Tuesday naming Freeh a "special master."

Freeh is a private consultant and recently led a university-sanctioned investigation of the Pennsylvania State University sex abuse scandal.

Claims administrator Patrick Juneau announced last month that his office is investigating allegations that an attorney on his staff received a portion of settlement proceeds for claims he had referred to a law firm before he started working on the settlement program.

BP had called for an independent review of the allegations.

Freeh served as FBI director from 1993 to 2001.

For months, BP has complained that a Louisiana attorney who is administering its settlement with tens of thousands of Gulf Coast businesses and residents has made decisions that expose the company to what could be billions of dollars in fictitious claims arising from the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Now the court-appointed administrator himself is investigating allegations that could provide the London-based oil giant with fodder for its argument that it hasn't gotten a fair shake from the claims-processing team.

Lafayette-based lawyer Patrick Juneau confirmed in June that he has opened an internal investigation of alleged misconduct by one of his staff attorneys, Lionel H. Sutton III.

Sutton resigned in mid-June, Juneau spokesman Nick Gagliano told The Associated Press.

A report outlining the allegations, a copy of which was obtained by the AP, accuses Sutton of "writing polices" that benefited himself and other plaintiffs' lawyers. It does not elaborate.

Prepared by Juneau's office, the report also says a "confidential source" who contacted Juneau's security chief accused Sutton of trying to influence a claim filed by the New Orleans-based Andry Law Firm. The same firm allegedly paid Sutton a portion of settlement proceeds for claims he had referred to it before he went to work for Juneau.

Source: The Associated Press