Mine owner could get up to 30 years for West Virginia deaths

[n2doc]

CHARLESTON, W. Va. (PAI) - The federal government rewrote its indictment of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship for his role in the fatal Upper Big Branch mine explosion and disaster five years ago. The new indictment, announced Mar. 10, rolls two conspiracy counts into one and still leaves Blankenship facing up to 30 years in jail if convicted on all charges. The court will hold a preliminary hearing on Mar. 24 with trial starting Apr. 6.

But, even more importantly, U.S. District Judge Irene Berger, who is hearing the case, lifted the gag order she imposed last year on everybody involved, including the families of the 29 workers killed in the blast, their attorneys and Blankenship. That will let the survivors start telling prosecutors, and the media, about the explosion and its aftermath.

It will also let the families of the dead miners use their experience to testify before the GOP-run West Virginia legislature in its hearings on corporate-backed legislation to gut the state's mine safety laws and to enact a so-called right-to-work law.

The U.S. attorney for West Virginia indicted Blankenship last November on counts of violating mine safety and health laws, conspiracy to do so, impeding federal mine safety officials, making false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission about the financial impact on Massey from lawsuits resulting from the UBB blast and securities fraud.

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http://www.peoplesworld.org/mine-owner-could-get-up-to-30-years-for-west-virginia-deaths/

[RKP5637]

1. I never did trust that guy! All the BS he was slinging around when it happened. n/t

[underpants]

2. Using the old phrase- Blankenship should be UNDER the jail

[progressoid]

3. "Could" and "if"

Which means, if found guilty, he'll get a fine and probation.

[spanone]

4. k&r...

[hifiguy]

5. The day a CEO in this country actually goes to jail for something

as trivial as dead peons (or anything for that matter unless he does a Madoff and steals from other tenth-percenters) will be the day you see winged swine circling the upper floors of the Empire State Building.

[asiliveandbreathe]

6. I hope Blankenship goes the way of those who came before him like

Ken Lay - Enron - I still think he is on a beach somewhere - and others who names escape me..
Bernie Ebbers - WorldCom
Koslowski - Tyco
Joe Nacchio - USWest - (he was in an executive capacity when I was at AT&T - consumer division)

We can only hope....

[surrealAmerican]

7. It should be murder charges.

That's usually what a person breaking laws with the result being the death of others would be charged with. I hope they're only going for these lesser charges because there's a very good chance of conviction and the maximum sentence.

[Doctor_J]

8. pigs could fly over my house

while I have sex with Norah Jones too. About the same likelihood.