OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Michael Fortier, the government’s star witness in the Oklahoma City bombing trials, was released from federal prison Friday after serving more than 10 years for failing to warn authorities about the plot.

Fortier, 37, received a 12-year sentence after striking a plea bargain in which he agreed to testify against Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. He got time off for good behavior.

His attorney, Michael McGuire, would not say who met Fortier or where he would live.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons has declined to release any information about Fortier, and the secrecy surrounding his release prompted speculation that he was entering the witness protection program. But McGuire would not comment on that.

“He really just wants to be with his wife and children to try to recover some of the lost time that they didn’t have,” the lawyer said. Fortier, who is originally from Kingman, Ariz., has a wife, Lori, and two children.

Fortier’s release received a mixed reaction from prosecutors and the bombing victims’ families. The April 19, 1995, bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building killed 168 people and injured more than 500 others.

“He may have outlived his prison sentence, but he will never outlive his responsibility,” said Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane, who prosecuted Nichols on state murder charges in 2004.

Jannie Coverdale, who lost two grandsons in the blast, said Fortier should have gotten a life sentence. She said his role in the blast was as significant as that of Nichols.

“Michael Fortier being out of prison? There’s no way I can forget that. He helped murder my grandsons,” she said.

McVeigh was convicted on federal charges and was executed in 2001. Nichols was found guilty on state and federal charges and is serving life in prison.

Fortier testified that he received stolen weapons that were sold to finance the bombing, shared money from their sale with McVeigh, handled blasting caps and other explosives and had the same anti-government literature that McVeigh gave Nichols. Fortier also accompanied McVeigh on a trip to case the building four months before the bombing.

Aitan Goelman, who served on the bombing prosecution team, said Fortier’s release was appropriate.

“He has paid his debt to society,” Goelman said. “Knowing about a horrible crime and doing nothing to prevent it is on one side, and on the other side of the scale is the tremendous assistance he provided to the government in order to prosecute the guys who actually did the bombing.”

AP-ES-01-20-06 1535EST

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