BECKLEY, W.Va. - A former security chief convicted of lying to investigators about the April 2010 explosion that killed 29 men at a southern West Virginia coal mine was sentenced to three years in prison yesterday.
Hughie Elbert Stover was convicted of lying to investigators and ordering a subordinate to destroy thousands of security-related documents at the Upper Big Branch mine after the worst US coal mine disaster in 40 years.
US Attorney Booth Goodwin had sought a 25-year sentence, hoping to send a resounding message about Stover’s crimes following the explosion.
“Well, that’s better than what I thought,’’ Gary Quarles, whose son died in the blast, said of the punishment. “It’s a little bit of satisfaction. It’s a start.’’
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Defense attorney Bill Wilmoth said Stover’s actions were innocent mistakes and he deserved no jail time.
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Related: Southern Sweep: West Virginia Miner $209er
Next Day Update:
"6 children among 8 killed in house fire" Associated Press, March 25, 2012
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Eight people, including a woman celebrating her 26th birthday and six young children who stayed over for a family slumber party, died Saturday when fire tore through a two-story home while they slept, officials and witnesses said. A seventh child was on life support after the blaze, the deadliest in West Virginia’s capital city in more than 60 years, said Charleston’s mayor, Danny Jones. The cause was under investigation. The fire appeared to have started on the first floor of the home, Charleston Assistant Fire Chief Bob Sharp said. Jones said the home had no functioning smoke detectors."
Deeper in the mine:
"Mine ex-boss admits fraud on inspections; Explosion killed 29 in April 2010" y John Raby | Associated Press, March 30, 2012
BECKLEY, W.Va. - The former superintendent of a southern West Virginia mine where an explosion killed 29 workers pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal fraud charge.
Gary May of Bloomingrose, the highest-ranking Massey Energy official charged in connection with the blast, faces up to five years in prison when sentenced Aug. 9.
May pleaded guilty before US District Judge Irene Berger in Beckley to conspiracy to defraud the federal government. The charge stems from his actions at the Upper Big Branch mine.
The blast was the worst US mining disaster in 40 years.
Prosecutors have accused Massey of violating a host of safety laws out of a desire to put production and profits first.
Three investigations of the tragedy concluded that the company allowed highly explosive methane and coal dust to build up inside the mine, where it was ignited by a spark from an improperly maintained piece of cutting equipment. Clogged and broken water sprayers then allowed what could have been just a flare-up to become an epic blast, the investigations found....
Prosecutors have refused to say whether they are targeting former Massey chief executive Don Blankenship, a hard-nosed executive whose company was cited for violations so frequently that union critics accused him of regarding fines as simply the cost of doing business.
Blankenship, once one of the most outspoken leaders in the coal industry, retired months after the explosion and moved away from West Virginia. A telephone number for him could not be found, and he has all but disappeared from public view since the blast....
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