Ex-CEO in Upper Big Branch mine disaster eyes Senate bid

The Associated Press
Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018 7:00 a.m. | Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018 7:00 a.m.

In this Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, file photo, former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship leaves the Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse following the second day of jury deliberation in Charleston, W.Va. Blankenship, who went to prison related to the deadliest U.S. mine disaster in four decades, is kicking off his U.S. Senate campaign with a town hall meeting for voters, on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Walter Scriptunas II, File)

Chairman and CEO of Massey Energy Company Don L. Blankenship addresses the safety concerns of the Upper Big Branch Mine, takes questions from the press and announces Massey's plans for providing care for the families of miners who died in the mine at a press conference at the Charleston Convention Center, Monday, April 26, 2010. (Andrew Russell | Tribune-Review)

In this file photo from 2006, Don Blankenship, then-chief executive of Massey Energy Co., speaks during the Bluefield Coal Symposium.

State troopers guard an entrance to Massey Energy Co.'s Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, W. Va. Thursday, April 8, 2010. (Andrew Russell | Tribune-Review)

State troopers guard an entrance to Massey Energy Co.'s Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, West Virginia Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (Andrew Russell | Tribune-Review)

Massey Energy Co.'s Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, West Virginia. Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (Andrew Russell | Tribune-Review)

Details

Other defendants

Three Massey Energy Co. and Upper Big Branch mine officials were convicted of or admitted to crimes in the wake of the explosion that killed 29 miners in 2010:

• David Hughart, 55, former president of Massey subsidiary White Buck Coal Co., pleaded guilty in February 2013 to conspiring to thwart surprise safety inspections. He did not name Blankenship by name but said the conspiracy was ordered by "the chief executive officer." He was sentenced to 31⁄2years in prison and three years of probation.

• Hughie Elbert Stover, 63, former security chief for Upper Big Branch, was convicted in October 2011 by a federal jury in Beckley of lying to investigators and ordering a subordinate to destroy documents. He was sentenced to three years in prison and two years of probation and fined $20,000.

• Gary May, 46, former superintendent of Upper Big Branch, pleaded guilty in March 2012 to defrauding the government by disabling a methane gas monitor, falsifying records and other actions. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison and three years of probation and fined $20,000.