Attorney for Victims of Plant Explosion Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

A Lynnfield man who represented people in Danversport after the 2006 ink plant explosion pleaded guilty on Tuesday to embezzlement and theft. 

Peter Lagorio, 58, pleaded guilty to 22 counts, which included embezzlement, larceny, uttering forged documents and conspiracy to commit larceny and attempted larceny, reported the Salem News.

Prosecutors said the attorney was able to use inside information related to the 2006 blast and the $7 million settlement with the CAI Arnel plant insurance company. He reportedly created fictitious victims and he was paid what those “victims” were owed. None of the actual victims were impacted, reported the Salem News.

A co-defendant, Michael Germane, 50, of Wilmington, also pleaded guilty to embezzlement, larceny, conspiracy and uttering forged documents in January. The two men, who collected about $1.4 million in the schemes, were both sentenced to six months in prison, reported the Salem News.

Both men have also been disbarred since being charged in the swindle. 

Read the full Salem News article.