Former Red Cross leader cleared in blood scandal

? Prosecutors dropped criminal charges against the former head of the Canadian Red Cross on Friday, clearing him of responsibility in a tainted-blood scandal that infected thousands with HIV or hepatitis and left more than 3,000 dead.

Prosecutors from the Ontario Supreme Court withdrew all six charges against Dr. Roger Perrault, saying there was no longer “a reasonable prospect of conviction.”

The decision concludes the case against Perrault who, along with two other Canadian doctors and a former U.S. pharmaceutical company executive, had faced criminal charges following a scandal that forced the government to pay a 1 billion Canadian dollar compensation settlement.