PG&E to plead guilty to lethal crimes in 2018 wildfires
MICHAEL LIEDTKE and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric will plead guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter for a swath of death and destruction left behind after its fraying electrical grid ignited a 2018 wildfire that decimated three Northern California towns and drove the nation's largest utility into bankruptcy.
The plea agreement announced Monday resolves the charges facing PG&E in Butte County and marks the second time this decade that the company's neglect has culminated in it being deemed a criminal. PG&E already is serving a five-year criminal probation imposed after it was convicted of six felony counts for falsifying records and other safety violations underlying a natural gas explosion that blew up a neighborho