"Longtime Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship Indicted"

"Don Blankenship, the longtime chief executive officer of Massey Energy, was indicted Thursday on charges that he orchestrated the routine violation of key federal mine safety rules at the company’s Upper Big Branch Mine prior to an April 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners.

A federal grand jury in Charleston charged Blankenship with conspiring to cause willful violations of ventilation requirements and coal-dust control rules — meant to prevent deadly mine blasts —during a 15-month period prior to the worst coal-mining disaster in a generation.

The four-count indictment, filed in U.S. District Court, also alleges that Blankenship led a conspiracy to cover up mine safety violations and hinder federal enforcement efforts by providing advance warning of government inspections."

Ken Ward Jr. reports for the Charleston Gazette November 13, 2014.

SEE ALSO:

"Ex-Executive Donald Blankenship Is Indicted in Disaster at Coal Mine" (New York Times)

Delinquent Mines Series Portal: "Coal Mines Keep Operating Despite Injuries, Violations And Millions In Fines" (NPR)

"Top Delinquent Mine Has Deadly Legacy" (NPR)

"Delinquent Mines: About The Data" (NPR)

Series Portal: "Mine Safety in America"  (NPR)

"Mine Safety Threatened by Deliquent Fines" (West Virginia Public Radio)

"Former Kentucky Mine Safety Inspector Faces Ethics Charges" (Insurance Journal)

"Mine Safety Reform Stalled Three Years After Deadly Blast" (NPR)

"NPR Investigation Finds Links Between Mine Safety, Delinquent Fines" (WFPL)