News
May 20 2008
Jury deliberates the fate of fuel developer
DENVER - Prosecutors and defense attorneys have finished their arguments in a case alleging fraud and tax evasion against a businessman who claimed to have found a better automobile fuel.
Bill Orr received $1 million from private investors and $3.7 million from the federal government to develop a fuel that would be more efficient and less polluting.
Prosecutors say Orr misrepresented his research results and business prospects to obtain a grant from Congress in 2002.
Orr admitted he paid himself more than $500,000 of the federal funds during two years of research and development work. He said he obtained the grant with the help of Congressional aides whom he met while working on other fuel and environmental issues.
Specifically, Orr worked with politicians on Capitol Hill when he tangled with the EPA in the 1990s.
"I sued the EPA for their bad science," Orr told 9NEWS. "Their (standard for fuel) is going to cost the American public and make the air dirtier."
His lawsuit against the EPA was finally dismissed in 2004.
That was about the time the EPA was assigned to administer the earmark grant Orr had received from Congress. Orr claims the EPA instigated his prosecution in retaliation for his lawsuit. Federal investigators have denied that.
Justice Department prosecutors cross-examined Orr at length about his lack of scientific education and experience. Orr testified that he had scientists to do the technical work, and he supervised. Orr and his scientists developed an alternative fuel that he called VPC, for Vapor Phase Combustion. It's a mixture of gasoline and ethanol, with a touch of the metal manganese.
"We thought it would probably result in a fuel that's less expensive to manufacture, with some fuel economy, more miles to the gallon," said Orr. "More importantly, we were trying to clean up the air."
Orr used some of the grant money to establish a small laboratory in Golden.
Two scientists who worked on the project disagree about the results.
"The more we measured it, the more we found his fuel was just like any other fuel," said Dr. Tom Reed.
Chemist Frank Cox was more impressed with VPC.
"It was well worthwhile," he said. "The results, to me, indicated we should go to the next step: actual vehicle testing under realistic conditions."
Before Orr could move his research to a larger laboratory, the EPA suspended his grant for alleged mismanagement of the grant money. A year later, a federal grand jury indicted him for defrauding Congress and private investors by claiming that "VPC was superior to conventional gasoline," even though "all scientific testing on VPC failed to demonstrate any benefits regarding emissions or fuel efficiency."
An investor testified in court that Orr's newsletters bragged about connections to big oil companies like Exxon and investment banking firms like Prudential-Bache. Prosecutors say those connections never existed.
The charges facing Orr carry a maximum sentence of more than 120 years.
Bill Orr received $1 million from private investors and $3.7 million from the federal government to develop a fuel that would be more efficient and less polluting.
Prosecutors say Orr misrepresented his research results and business prospects to obtain a grant from Congress in 2002.
Orr admitted he paid himself more than $500,000 of the federal funds during two years of research and development work. He said he obtained the grant with the help of Congressional aides whom he met while working on other fuel and environmental issues.
Specifically, Orr worked with politicians on Capitol Hill when he tangled with the EPA in the 1990s.
"I sued the EPA for their bad science," Orr told 9NEWS. "Their (standard for fuel) is going to cost the American public and make the air dirtier."
His lawsuit against the EPA was finally dismissed in 2004.
That was about the time the EPA was assigned to administer the earmark grant Orr had received from Congress. Orr claims the EPA instigated his prosecution in retaliation for his lawsuit. Federal investigators have denied that.
Justice Department prosecutors cross-examined Orr at length about his lack of scientific education and experience. Orr testified that he had scientists to do the technical work, and he supervised. Orr and his scientists developed an alternative fuel that he called VPC, for Vapor Phase Combustion. It's a mixture of gasoline and ethanol, with a touch of the metal manganese.
"We thought it would probably result in a fuel that's less expensive to manufacture, with some fuel economy, more miles to the gallon," said Orr. "More importantly, we were trying to clean up the air."
Orr used some of the grant money to establish a small laboratory in Golden.
Two scientists who worked on the project disagree about the results.
"The more we measured it, the more we found his fuel was just like any other fuel," said Dr. Tom Reed.
Chemist Frank Cox was more impressed with VPC.
"It was well worthwhile," he said. "The results, to me, indicated we should go to the next step: actual vehicle testing under realistic conditions."
Before Orr could move his research to a larger laboratory, the EPA suspended his grant for alleged mismanagement of the grant money. A year later, a federal grand jury indicted him for defrauding Congress and private investors by claiming that "VPC was superior to conventional gasoline," even though "all scientific testing on VPC failed to demonstrate any benefits regarding emissions or fuel efficiency."
An investor testified in court that Orr's newsletters bragged about connections to big oil companies like Exxon and investment banking firms like Prudential-Bache. Prosecutors say those connections never existed.
The charges facing Orr carry a maximum sentence of more than 120 years.
