Massey Energy Official Gets 3 Years For Obstruction, Lying To Investigators In Big Branch Blast
BECKLEY, W.Va. -- A former Massey Energy security director deserves to spend three years in prison for lying to investigators and trying to destroy documents, but should not be blamed for the worst coal-mining disaster in nearly 40 years, a federal judge concluded Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Irene Berger sentenced Hughie Elbert Stover to 36 months in jail, two years of probation and a $20,000 fine after he was convicted of two felonies: Making a false statement and obstructing a government probe of the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster.
Stover, 60, of Clear Fork, was found guilty last October by a federal jury that concluded he lied to investigators about Massey's practice of warning underground workers when government safety inspectors arrive at its mines. The jury also concluded that Stover later tried to have one of his guards get rid of company documents about security procedures at Upper Big Branch.
During a court hearing in Beckley, Berger rebuffed U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin, who recommended Stover receive the maximum sentence of 25 years behind bars, arguing that his crimes played a major role in causing the April 5, 2010, disaster that killed 29 miners. "It is a very serious thing to hang death on anyone, and it should only be done when there is evidence to support it," Berger said.
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