Laura Leigh Putnam

23 years old

Timeline of Tragedy by Texas Media

A Texas Tech graduate is presumed dead Tuesday after a boating accident near Austin early Monday morning.

Laura Putnam, her fiancee, Justin Lee Moore, and his cousin Jerry Neil Cypert were involved in a hit and run boating accident at Lake LBJ, near Horseshoe Bay. All three are from Lubbock. Putnam was thrown from the boat and searchers have yet to find her body. Moore and Cypert were treated for minor injuries.

Bill Lane with the Horseshoe Bay Police Department says the boat was properly lit. Police are now searching area marinas for the boat that hit Putnam's boat. It's described as a white speed boat with a red or dark colored stripe.

June 2, 2003

Hit-And-Run Boat Accident Strangely Similar to Unsolved Case From 2002

KINGSLAND, Texas — A romantic weekend on a Central Texas lake turned to tragedy during Memorial Day weekend, leaving investigators searching for suspects in a case strikingly similar to one that claimed the life of a young man at this time last year.

Justin Moore, 23, of Lubbock, was at Lake LBJ with his cousin and their girlfriends on Memorial Day weekend. On Saturday night, he proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Laura Putnam, 23. She said yes.

Moore had no way of knowing that two days later, his fiancé would be missing after a hit-and-run boat wreck on Lake LBJ. As of this writing, she has not been found and both families have converged from the Dallas area, awaiting word about the search for the young woman. The three boat passengers, Moore, Putnam and Moore's cousin, Jerry Cypert, 22, had stopped their boat in a cove when the accident took place at about 2:30 a.m.

"Something caught my attention to the right," Moore said. "The second I looked, there was a boat just right there. It hit exactly where Laura was at that time — the driver's seat, and jumped over us — . I saw them look back and kinda circle around and see if they hit us. Then they just completely took off, floored it. We were yelling 'you just hit us, help!' At that moment I realized Laura was missing."

"We are focusing first on finding her, then who had done this. There were two people on that boat. I've gotta believe one of these people knows they killed somebody," Moore said.

Game Warden Gordon Eckert is working on the case and for him, the similarity to the 2002 wreck case is uncanny.

He has spent the past year tracking down hundreds of leads after a hit-and-run boat wreck on Lake Buchanan that killed one teenager and left two others floating in the lake overnight last May. He and two other wardens investigating the case have driven thousands of miles, checked hundreds of leads, and put in some long days. But Eckert says it's his job and he wanted more than anything to solve that case.

But then, this past weekend, he saw it all happen again, in the same chain of lakes, with two young men and a young woman aboard again. It was a year ago this month, both accidents happened within sight of a dam, and around the same time of day.

Eckert knows off the top of his head that "It's been a year and 25 days — ..since the Lake Buchanan accident."

At about midnight May 3, 2002, the bass boat with the three Lampasas teens aboard, was struck on Lake Buchanan by what has been described as a painted blue, fiberglass boat. The boat ran into them almost head-on and then went airborne over the top of the teens' fishing boat, according to Keith Gerth, one of the game wardens working on the case. Justin Roberts, then 18, was ejected from the boat and killed; Kelly Jean Corbin, then 19, was knocked unconscious but was found in the boat; and the boat operator, Jim Daniels, then 17, was ejected and found the next morning, floating in the lake.

"You hear about stuff like this on the news but don't ever think it can happen to you," Jim Daniels said after being found. "It's hard to understand how someone could do something like this."

Moore and Putnam, of the Lake LBJ accident, graduated from Texas Tech in May and December, respectively. Putnam graduated from Grapevine High School and Moore, from Coppell High school, both in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Putnam does marketing for a health insurance company and Moore works in sales. They have a house in Lubbock and a Boxer dog named Bailey. Putnam is about 5'3,'' with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a khaki skirt, a white t-shirt and flip flops.

The boat that hit them was a white ski boat with a reddish stripe around the top and it probably has quite a bit of front-end damage. There was a man driving and at least one passenger. The driver was tan, without a shirt on, and possibly with brown hair..........

Eckert said he's tried to remain very positive and just keeps plugging away. He worked 18 hours last Monday and 12 hours last Tuesday. The search for Putnam is still going on.

Moore's cousin, Cypert is recovering with bruises and scratches.

And Moore says he'll always remember that weekend.

"It is a comfort to me knowing that she died so very happy; but the memory of that night will stick with me forever. I want as many people who read this to pray for us, and to help solve the mystery of Laura's death," he said.***

If you have any information about either of the accidents, please call (800)792-GAME. You can remain anonymous. (The hit and run killer of Justin Roberts remains at large to this day)

Boat Found Likely One Involved in Fatal Hit-and-Run

AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens have seized what is believed to be the boat used in a Memorial Day hit-and-run on Lake LBJ that resulted in the death of a 23-year-old Lubbock woman.

During patrols on Lake LBJ, wardens spotted a boat matching a description given of the one involved in the 2:30 a.m. accident that killed Laura Putnam. It is described as a white ski boat with a reddish stripe around the top. It was located at the Horseshoe Bay area of the lake and had a damaged propeller. Wardens obtained a search warrant for the suspect boat and samples from that boat are being tested and compared with evidence found in the victim's boat.

Authorities are waiting for reports from the Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab in Austin for final confirmation that this is the suspect boat. To date, there have been no arrests in the case.

"Yes, there has been some progress in the case. Our main concern remains finding the operator of this boat. We are working diligently on every aspect of this case. We at TPWD want to say that our hearts go out to everyone involved in this tragedy," said Gordon Eckert, a Llano County TPWD game warden who is heading up the investigation.

Other occupants of the boat in which the victim was riding were Justin Moore, 23, and his cousin Jerry Cypert, 22, also of Lubbock. They had stopped their boat in a cove when the accident took place.

Moore and Putnam graduated from Texas Tech in May and December, respectively. Putnam graduated from Grapevine High School and Moore, from Coppell High school, both in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Putnam did marketing for a health insurance company and Moore works in sales. Moore's cousin, Cypert, is recovering with bruises and scratches.

The family of the Texas Tech graduate killed in a hit and run boating accident, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the owners of the suspect boat.

23-year-old Laura Putnam was killed at Lake LBJ on Memorial Day after an accident in which she was thrown from a boat. Her body was found about two weeks later.

On Monday, Frank Branson, attorney for the Putnam family, filed the lawsuit against Berkley and Vincent Dawson. They are two prominent businessmen and brothers from San Antonio. The Dawsons hosted a gathering at their Horseshoe Bay vacation home on Memorial Day weekend, but their lawyer says they were sleeping at the time of the fatal crash. They have not been named as suspects in this case.

Branson says the timing of the lawsuit was done intentionally to coincide with the upcoming 4th of July weekend.

10/2/03
Major Break in Laura Putnam Case
Llano County Sheriff's Dept.

Arrest Made In Fatal Boating Accident

28-year-old Robert Napier Corrigan III was arrested on yesterday in Frio county and booked in the Llano county jail, charged with failure to stop and render aid. He posted $100,000 bond and was released Thursday afternoon. Corrigan is reportedly a real estate agent in San Antonio. He was arrested without incident while dove hunting. One law enforcement officer said of the arrest, 'It was almost as if he were expecting us.'

Thursday afternoon at the accident site on Lake LBJ, authorities and Laura Putnam's parents held a joint press conference. "This is harder than I thought it would be. On behalf of our beloved daughter Laura, we'd like to express our heartfelt appreciation to (investigators)," says Laura's father Judd Putnam.

...........The boat that sped away was later discovered in a boat slip at the Horseshoe Bay lakeside mansion of brothers Vincent and Berkley Dawson. The Dawsons own Budco, the San Antonio Budweiser distributorship. They hosted a Memorial Day gathering, but have denied any knowledge of the boating accident.

Corrigan is the boyfriend of Berkley Dawson's daughter Sybil. It's still unclear if someone else was on the boat with Corrigan, but Moore says there was at least one passenger.

Oct. 8, 2003, the Llano County Grand Jury handed down an Indictment against Robert N. Corrigan III, charging him with Failure to Render Assistance, a Texas Parks and Wildlife felony, which carries a possible penalty of from 2-10 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a possible fine of from $2,000 to $10,000.Corrigan is still out on a $100,000 bond which was made after his arrest. Arraignment before the 33rd Judicial District Court will be the next step and that date has not been set. District Attorney Sam Oatman stated, "All evidence involving this accident was presented to the Grand Jury. Their decision to indict involved only failure to return to the accident scene. The case is still under investigation concerning what actually caused the collision and whether Corrigan or anyone else was criminally responsible. If any new evidence is found or evidence we already have can be developed further, it could result in an additional felony charge, provided such evidence is enough for a Grand Jury Indictment." This news release serves as the extent of comment about this case at this time.

LLANO — More than a year after Laura Putnam drowned in the dark waters of Lake LBJ as a sleek speedboat sped away, the man accused of leaving her behind stood in court Friday, admitted his guilt and apologized to her family.

"Mr. and Mrs. Putnam ... I want to give you my condolences," said a subdued Robert "Triple" Corrigan III, a 29-year-old real estate salesman who lives in San Antonio.

He professed sorrow for their loss and pain and said they were in his prayers.

Corrigan pleaded guilty to failure to stop and render aid and was given a six-month jail sentence, 10 years deferred adjudication and a $10,000 fine by District Judge Guilford Jones.

By rolling the dice and entering the plea before the judge, Corrigan dodged a jury trial or a plea bargain with Llano County District Attorney Sam Oatman, avenues that could have resulted in a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Jones chastised Corrigan during the proceedings for the reckless act that claimed the life of Laura Putnam, a 23-year-old graduate of Texas Tech University.

The Putnams, when given a chance in court to address Corrigan, choked back tears.

They wondered why he stayed silent during the long months when no one claimed responsibility for the fatal May 26, 2003, boating wreck that killed their daughter and cast a pall over this sunny resort community.

It took nearly two weeks to find Laura Putnam's decomposed body, and longer to discover a damaged speedboat in the dock of beer magnates Berkley and Vincent Dawson, owners of the Budweiser distributorship in San Antonio.

Corrigan, the boyfriend of Berkley Dawson's daughter, admitted for the first time Friday that he had been driving the boat that slammed into Laura Putnam's watercraft and knocked her unconscious into the lake.

"She did not have to die that night," Betty Putnam told Corrigan. "We'll never know, because after she was struck by your boat, you ran.

"Damn you for that."

Corrigan pleaded guilty during what was supposed to be a routine court hearing. He was scheduled to stand trial Nov. 1.

"I'm going to throw the book at you, but I'm only going to throw part of it at you," Jones told Corrigan.

Saying he saw hope for Corrigan to lead a good life, the judge sentenced him to 180 days in jail and 10 years deferred adjudication, which is similar to probation. If Corrigan does not commit a crime during that period, a conviction will not appear on his criminal record.

Corrigan faced prison time of two to 10 years. But with deferred adjudication, the most time the judge could mete out was drastically reduced under state law to 180 days.

Jones also fined Corrigan $10,000, barred him from ever owning a boat and ordered him to remain in his home during the next three Memorial Day weekends "to think about the consequences of your totally selfish, irresponsible, amoral act."

The circumstances suggest Corrigan's lawyers felt they would have better luck with the judge than with a plea arrangement with District Attorney Oatman, or before a jury.

Oatman acknowledged the emotional pain suffered by the Putnams would have swayed a jury far more than a judge when it came to Corrigan's sentence. He said "we wanted more" than what the judge handed down Friday, but added that no firm plea offers had been on the table.

"If the family can live with it, I can live with it," Oatman said of the sentence.

In a separate civil lawsuit filed by the Putnams against Corrigan, the insurance company for Berkley Dawson has agreed to settle the case for $2.5 million, according to the Putnams' lawyer, Greg Marks.

The Putnams said they were unhappy with the amount of prison time Corrigan must serve, but they expressed relief that a dark chapter of their lives was over.

Betty Putnam, her husband, Judd, and son Phillip gave heart-wrenching speeches to Corrigan that made some courtroom observers cry.

"Quite simply, there's nothing I can say to you or your family to give you any idea what we're going through," Betty Putnam told Corrigan, who sat still as each family member spoke.

Two rows behind her son, Corrigan's mother sat unmoving but not unmoved. His father at times leaned forward, bowed his head and held his hands over a courtroom seat, as if he were praying at a church pew.

They listened as Betty Putnam told them how having a child changes you forever — and so does living with the pain of losing one.

"This heavy, pervading sadness will always be a big part of who I am," Putnam said.

What she and her family have left are small lockets they each wear around their necks with Laura Putnam's ashes.

"We all wear them," Betty Putnam said. "And we'll be buried with them."

Web Posted: 11/20/2004 12:00 AM CST
John Tedesco
San Antonio Express-News

A longtime member of Crime Stoppers in San Antonio resigned earlier this week after facing accusations he kept quiet about a fatal hit-and-run boating collision at Lake LBJ.

John Kocurek e-mailed his resignation to colleagues Monday, the same day an article appeared in the San Antonio Express-News about the failure of the Crime Stoppers board to ask him about the accidental death of 23-year-old Laura Putnam.

"There was a concern that the controversy was harming Crime Stoppers and its mission. That's why he did what he did," said Kocurek's lawyer Steve Hilbig, who is also a board member.

In a telephone interview Friday evening, Kocurek said it was time to move on with his life.

"This is a personal issue with me and it has nothing to do with Crime Stoppers," he said.

Putnam, a marketing grad engaged to her boyfriend of three years, died 80 miles north of San Antonio on Memorial Day last year in the resort community of Horseshoe Bay.

Kocurek acknowledged taking a boat ride with his friend Robert "Triple" Corrigan III earlier that night. He said Corrigan dropped him off at a condo before Putnam died.

At an Oct. 22 court hearing in Llano County, Corrigan admitted driving the speedboat that struck Putnam's stationary watercraft. He testified that Kocurek was with him.

Court records show Kocurek met with Corrigan's lawyer a few weeks after the crash and gave him a sworn statement. He didn't talk to authorities for several months until they tracked him down.

Putnam's boyfriend told authorities he thought he saw a passenger in the boat.

Kocurek claimed he was with Corrigan at 12:30 a.m., about two hours before the crash. But Corrigan had called Kocurek on his mobile phone during that time, according to court records, suggesting Corrigan had yet to pick up Kocurek at his condo.

On Friday, Kocurek said, "I have no allegiance to Corrigan at all." Kocurek said he would have stepped forward sooner, but it appeared authorities didn't need his help.

"They seemed to be on the right track," Kocurek said. He pointed out that investigators were interviewing all the guests who stayed that weekend at the lakeside home of Berkley and Vincent Dawson, owners of the Budweiser beer distributorship for South Texas.

Corrigan, who is the boyfriend of Berkley Dawson's daughter Sybil, was a guest at the house that weekend and admitted in court that he was driving the family's speedboat.

Kocurek wouldn't answer questions about his meeting with Corrigan's lawyer.

What about Corrigan's cell phone call?

"Corrigan's the type of person who likes to brag he's got better equipment, better (mobile phone) service," Kocurek said. Corrigan was showing off to say, "Hey, my phone works," Kocurek said.

Even Kocurek is quick to point out his value as a witness — he helped authorities prove Corrigan was in the boat the night Putnam died. Corrigan was indicted by a Llano County grand jury the same day Kocurek testified.

So his initial silence is all the more aggravating for the Putnam family and authorities.

"His value was always that he could put Corrigan driving the boat," said Putnam's older brother John.

Crime Stoppers is a nonprofit group, funded by county probation fees paid by criminals, that helps authorities solve tough cases. With close ties to the San Antonio Police Department, the group offers rewards of up to $5,000 to anonymous tipsters who know information that can help solve a crime.

Three current Crime Stoppers board members acknowledged they hadn't asked Kocurek for an explanation of what happened, or explored the question of whether he failed to live up to the nonprofit group's mission.

Former trustee Joe Calvey said he wasn't surprised. The group is no longer affiliated with Crime Stoppers International, and he said the board recently cut its membership, making it "more insular as opposed to inclusive."

"You have a small group of people at Crime Stoppers who are not interested in outsiders, or what the public at large has to say," Calvey said.

Crime Stoppers hired Kocurek in the mid-1990s as the group's executive director, and he later was a volunteer board member.

"The mission was to actually take felons off the street, wasn't it?" asked Frank Branson, a lawyer for the Putnam family, at a Feb. 13 court deposition.

"Yes, sir," Kocurek answered.

"Did you believe in that job?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you believe in the mission?"

"Yes, sir."

Later, Branson asked why Kocurek wanted an immunity deal from the Llano County prosecutor before he helped authorities solve Putnam's death by testifying before the grand jury.

"To protect myself," Kocurek answered.

"From what?"

"From possibly being drug into this, I guess."

Lake LBJ boating accident witness leaves post
11/20/2004 11:13 AM
By: Associated Press

A longtime member of Crime Stoppers in San Antonio has resigned after accusations he kept quiet about a fatal hit-and-run boating collision at Lake LBJ that killed a 23-year-old Texas Tech University graduate.

John Kocurek resigned by e-mail to colleagues on Monday, the same day a San Antonio Express-News article about the failure of the Crime Stoppers board to ask him about the accidental death of Laura Putnam.

Putnam was killed 80 miles north of San Antonio on Memorial Day 2003 in the resort community of Horseshoe Bay. She was thrown from her boat when it was struck by another boat driven by Robert “Triple'' Corrigan III, a friend of Kocurek's.

Putnam was knocked into the water and her body was pulled from the lake June 8.

Kocurek was in the boat that struck Putnam's watercraft.

Corrigan pleaded guilty in October to failure to stop and render aid; he received a six-month jail sentence, 10 years deferred adjudication, which is similar to probation, and a $10,000 fine.

(Dallas) – The Law Offices of Frank L. Branson P.C. announces it has secured a $2.5 million settlement in the case of Judd L. Putnam, et al. v. Vincent M. Dawson, et al. The suit, which was filed in civil court in San Antonio, sought damages in the wrongful death of Laura Leigh Putnam, 23.

Ms. Putnam, who was boating on Lake LBJ near Austin on Memorial Day weekend, was killed when a boat driven by Robert N. Corrigan III struck her boat, knocking her overboard. Mr. Corrigan left the scene and did not attempt to help Ms. Putnam or the two other passengers in her boat.

Her body was found 13 days later.

A portion of the money was paid to Jerry Cypert, one of the other passengers in Ms. Putnam’s boat, and to Bill deTournillon of Lubbock, owner of the boat that Ms. Putnam was on. The majority of the settlement was paid to Ms. Putnam’s family.

On October 22, Mr. Corrigan pleaded guilty to failure to stop and render assistance. He was sentenced to six months in jail and received a $10,000 fine. State District Judge Guilford Jones also ordered a 3-year Memorial Day curfew for Mr. Corrigan, timed to coincide with Ms. Putnam’s death.

Mr. Corrigan was ordered to begin serving his sentence on November 12 at a Burnet County jail.

“Laura Putnam was only 23 years old, engaged to be married and ready to begin a new life,” says Frank Branson, who represented her family in the lawsuit. “Instead, her parents and her fiancé have to face a future without her in it. I hope that settlements like this send a message to boat owners to treat them as vehicles every bit as deadly as automobiles.

An attorney for Robert N. Corrigan III hasn't given up hope on reducing Corrigan's sentence for his involvement in a fatal boat crash on Memorial Day weekend 2003 on Lake LBJ in the Texas Hill Country.

A Llano County District Judge last week denied a motion filed by local lawyer Douglas Tinker asking to reduce the 29-year-old former Corpus Christi man's six-month sentence. The motion asked to let Corrigan into a work-release program that would give him the ability to work during the day and return to prison at night, or to reduce the sentence to "no more than 30 days."

On Thursday, Tinker said he was disappointed that the judge denied the request.

"We can always wait and file (another motion), and probably will," Tinker said.

When asked what would be in the motion, Tinker said, "Probably the same thing."

However, there isn't a current plan to file another motion, Tinker said.

"I don't know what we're going to do," he said of possible future action in the case.

After pleading guilty in October 2004, Corrigan apologized to Putnam's family for their loss and pain.

Last week, four letters of support were submitted to Judge Guilford Jones III, along with Tinker's motion, including letters from Corpus Christi's First United Methodist Church Rev. Steve Fieldcamp and Corpus Christi Independent School District board trustee Vicki Rothschild.

Rothschild specified last week that she was writing not as a school board member, but as a longtime family friend. She also said she wasn't commenting on the judge's decision, but writing to point out that Corrigan "has a lot to offer."

She could not be reached Thursday.

Fieldcamp said Thursday his letter on Corrigan's behalf was, "so he could get out on work release."

Fieldcamp said he had no comment on the judge's decision to deny Tinker's motion.

Corrigan, who is sometimes called "Triple" Corrigan by acquaintances, is a San Antonio real estate salesman. He was sentenced to six months in jail after he pleaded guilty in October to failure to stop and render aid in a fatal boat wreck May 26, 2003, on Lake LBJ. Corrigan admitted to driving the boat that sped into a stationary boat during the early morning hours, according to authorities.

Laura Putnam, a 23-year-old recent Texas Tech University graduate, was on the boat with her fiance when it was struck. Putnam got knocked unconscious and fell into the water, according to Texas Parks & Wildlife game wardens. Her body was found after two weeks of searching the lake's bottom, according to Parks & Wildlife.In late June 2003, Texas Parks & Wildlife game wardens found a damaged speedboat in the dock of Berkley and Vincent Dawson during a patrol of the lake, according to Parks & Wildlife spokeswoman Kristen Everett. Corrigan was at the Dawson's residence Memorial Day weekend.

SAN ANTONIO - A commercial real estate firm has fired a former Corpus Christi man who admitted fleeing from a fatal boating accident last year on Lake LBJ.

Todd Gold, president of REOC Partners Ltd., said in a statement the firm has "severed its association" with Robert Corrigan III, 29, who pleaded guilty in October to failure to stop and render aid in a boating accident that killed Laura Putnam, a 23-year-old Texas Tech student.

Corrigan had hoped to return after completing a six-month jail sentence. Corrigan also received 10 years deferred adjudication, which is similar to probation, and a $10,000 fine.

Corrigan drove a speedboard that slammed into another watercraft on May 26, 2003, at the resort community of Horseshoe Bay, about 80 miles north of San Antonio.

The impact knocked Putnam overboard. The speedboat raced away as survivors yelled for help and searched for Putnam in the early morning darkness. Putnam's body was found nearly two weeks later.

The boat driver never stepped forward. Game wardens eventually discovered a damaged speedboat belonging to Berkley Dawson, owner of the Budweiser beer distributorship for South Texas.

Corrigan had stayed at the Dawson lake home that Memorial Day weekend. Authorities arrested him five months after Putnam's death.

During a court hearing Oct. 22, Corrigan told District Judge Guilford Jones he had driven the boat and fled out of panic. However, at REOC Partners, Corrigan maintained his innocence even after his guilty plea, Gold wrote in a statement faxed to the San Antonio Express-News.

"Mr. Corrigan had never wavered from his expressions of innocence to us," Gold's statement read. "After his plea, he was finally able to share ... his version of the events of that evening in which he continued to express his innocence."

Gold had promised a job would be waiting for Corrigan when he completed his sentence.

"While our course of action may be second-guessed, our objective was to try to do the right thing, as we would do for any of our colleagues," Gold wrote.

The firm gave Corrigan the benefit of the doubt and wanted the justice system to run its course.

"In retrospect," Gold wrote, "we should have ended the relationship earlier."

05/15/2005
San Antonio Express-News

Horseshoe Bay boater released from prison

A San Antonio real estate salesman was released from a Burnet prison Friday after serving six months for fleeing the scene of a nighttime boating accident that killed Texas Tech University graduate Laura Putnam, 23.

Robert Corrigan III confessed in October that he had been driving a speedboat at Horseshoe Bay that rammed into Putnam's watercraft May 26, 2003. He said he didn't step forward earlier because he was scared.

Putnam's relatives were unhappy with the punishment. One family member said they were trying not to dwell on his freedom.

"I'm going to try to quit thinking about him and just move on," said Putnam's brother, John. "For Mom, this has changed her so dramatically. (Corrigan's release) is the kind of thing that's got her cooped up somewhere today, crying."

The hit-and-run case was a mystery that cast an uncomfortable spotlight on an affluent San Antonio family.

Authorities searching for clues in the case came across a damaged speedboat owned by Berkley Dawson, a San Antonio resident who owns the Budweiser distributorship for South Texas.

Corrigan had been staying at the family's lakefront home. The Dawsons said they were asleep when Corrigan took the boat out and were commended by authorities for cooperating with the investigation.