William Orr's quest for better, cheaper gas left him facing prison time

Comments (0) By Alan Prendergast Thursday, Sep 4 2008

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Members of the jury say they thought Judge Babcock was quite fair and that Orr's government-vendetta theory simply didn't fly. "I think the EPA bent over backwards to help him," says one. "He had plenty of opportunity and money to do more research and never did it."

Orr says he regrets some of the optimistic, "sloppily prepared" reports he sent investors, and never meant to deceive anyone. He just isn't that detail-oriented, he admits, and sometimes he gets immersed in his enthusiasm.

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Tiger in the tank: Bill Orr battled for sixteen years to patent his fuel blend. Then he took on the EPA.

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Taking stock: Octane investor Bob Gathers still defends Orr and the "crap shoot" of small business.

Details

Read more about this case -- including the government's response to claims by Orr's lawyers that prosecutors engaged in underhanded tactics to win a conviction -- head to the Latest Word blog.

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"In my mind, they were not lies," he says. "I really thought we could make this work. I still do."

Orr has resigned as the chairman of Octane. The new chairman has called a shareholders' meeting this month, to discuss the future of the company and its product.