Ex-coal CEO gets 1 year in prison for deadly mine blast

Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship makes his way across Virginia Street in Charleston, W.V., before entering the Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse for his sentencing on Wednesday, April 6, 2016.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A judge sentenced former coal executive Don Blankenship to a year in prison Wednesday for his role in the deadliest U.S. mine explosion in four decades, saying he was part of a “dangerous conspiracy.”

One day after the sixth anniversary of the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion, which killed 29 men, U.S. District Judge Irene Berger gave the ex-Massey Energy CEO the maximum prison time and fine of $250,000. A federal jury convicted Blankenship on Dec. 3 of a misdemeanor conspiracy to violate mine safety standards at Upper Big Branch.

Blankenship spoke briefly during the sentencing hearing and said he wanted to reassure the families of the fallen miners that they were “great guys, great coal miners.” The main point he wanted to express, he said, was “sorrow to the families and everyone about what happened.”

In his next breath, he denied culpability.

“It is important to everyone that you know that I’m not guilty of a crime,” Blankenship said.

Blankenship’s attorneys contended he should receive probation and a fine, at most. The judge denied their motion for Blankenship to remain free as he appeals. It’s not clear when he must report to prison.

As Blankenship left the courthouse, a few family members of miners who were killed started yelling at him while he and his attorneys spoke with reporters.

“We buried our kid because of you,” said Robert Atkins, whose son Jason died in the explosion. “That’s all I got is a goddamn tombstone.”

Asked by a reporter what he had to say to the shouting family members, Blankenship said: “Well, just that the coal miners didn’t cause the accident.”

Then about a half-dozen law enforcement officers surrounded Blankenship and his team and ushered them into an awaiting van.

Four investigations found worn and broken cutting equipment created a spark that ignited accumulations of coal dust and methane gas. Broken and clogged water sprayers then allowed what should have been a minor flare-up to become an inferno.

Blankenship disputes those reports. He believes natural gas in the mine, and not methane gas and excess coal dust, was at the root of the explosion.

His sentencing capped a wide-spanning investigation into Massey following the explosion. Four others up the Massey corporate chain were convicted before Blankenship.

The judge described Blankenship’s rise from a meager, single-mother Appalachian household to one of the wealthiest, most influential figures in the region and in the coal industry.

“Instead of being to be able to tout you as a success story, we are here as a result of your part in a dangerous conspiracy,” she said.

During the trial, prosecutors called Blankenship a bullish micromanager who meddled in the smallest details of Upper Big Branch. They said Massey’s safety programs were just a facade — never backed by more money to hire additional miners or take more time on safety tasks.

Blankenship was acquitted of felonies that could have stretched his sentence to 30 years.

On Wednesday, lead defense attorney William Taylor said the former U.S. attorney was “using this case as part of the reason to vote for him.” Booth Goodwin left the office shortly after Blankenship’s conviction to run for governor.

“Well, when all else fails, attack the prosecutor,” Goodwin said after the sentencing.

The judge already ruled that Blankenship won’t have to pay $28 million in restitution to Alpha Natural Resources, helping him avoid a serious blow to his personal fortune. Alpha bought Massey in 2011 after the explosion, and wanted Blankenship to pay legal fees it covered for former Massey employees, costs to cooperate with the investigation and mine safety fines incurred at Upper Big Branch.

Berger also ruled that Blankenship would not have to pay restitution to about 100 people, including former miners and family members.

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