Massey ex-CEO indicted over fatal 2010 West Virginia mine blast

By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - Donald Blankenship, a former chief executive of Massey Energy Co, was indicted on Thursday on charges he violated federal mine safety laws prior to the April 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners at the company's Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia. The U.S. Department of Justice said a federal grand jury charged Blankenship with four criminal counts, including conspiring to violate mine safety standards, conspiring to impede mine safety officials, making false statements to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and securities fraud. Blankenship, who led Massey from 2000 to 2010, faces a maximum 31 years in prison. The April 5, 2010 blast at Upper Big Branch was the worst U.S. mining disaster in four decades. The now-closed mine was roughly 40 miles south of Charleston. William Taylor, a lawyer for Blankenship, said in a statement: "Mr. Blankenship is entirely innocent of these charges. He will fight them and he will be acquitted." Massey was bought in 2011 by Alpha Natural Resources Inc for about $7 billion. Alpha Natural was not accused of wrongdoing. According to the indictment, from January 2008 to April 2010 Blankenship knew about and could have stopped hundreds of safety law violations occurring each year at Upper Big Branch. Instead, Blankenship allegedly conspired to tip off workers about upcoming inspections so they could cover up violations. The indictment also said that after the explosion, he misled the SEC about Massey's safety practices. Blankenship "fostered and participated in an understanding that perpetuated (the mine's) practice of routine safety violations, in order to produce more coal, avoid the costs of following safety laws, and make more money," the indictment said. According the indictment, Blankenship received $17.8 million of compensation in 2009. While at Massey, he became a powerful advocate for coal, drawing criticism from environmentalists, as well as from trade unions objecting to Massey's use of nonunion labor. Taylor, in his statement, called Blankenship "a tireless advocate for mine safety. His outspoken criticism of powerful bureaucrats has earned this indictment. He will not yield to their effort to silence him. He will not be intimidated." In December 2011, Alpha Natural agreed to pay $209 million to settle criminal and civil charges over the explosion, including $1.5 million to each family of the 29 miners who were killed. Other people have also been criminally charged over the explosion. Former mine superintendent Gary May pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and was sentenced in January 2013 to 21 months in prison. (Additional reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Chris Reese)