An Upper Big Branch Mine superintendent Wednesday was charged with conspiring to impede enforcement of federal safety regulations before the 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners.
Gary May, 43, of Bloomingrose, W.Va., is accused of defrauding the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration officials from carrying out their duties between February 2008 and April 2010, according to a copy of the charges from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
"Today's charge is a significant step in the investigation of events at the Upper Big Branch Mine," U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said in a news release. "Our investigation of those events remains ongoing.
Click here to read the court documents outlining the charges.
The charge carries a possible penalty of up to five years in prison, the news release states.
May is the second Upper Big Branch supervisor to be charged in the case. Hughie Stover, 60, head of security at the mine, was found guilty of destroying documents related to the case.
Specifically, May is accused of conspiring to "hamper, hinder, impede and obstruct by trickery, deceit and dishonest means, the lawful and legitimate functions of (the U.S. Department of Labor) and its agency, MSHA, in the enforcement and administration of mine health and safety laws at UBB," the court documents state.
May and others are charged with giving advanced notice of unannounced MSHA inspections at the mine, according to court documents. He and the others did so with the intent of the person being notified covering up violations of mine safety and health regulations that would have resulted in citations.
May and the others used code phrases to give the advanced notice, the court documents state.
May and the other accused conspirators falsified and caused the falsification of record books at the mine, the court documents state.
Additionally, the conspirators, after learning of MSHA inspections, would alter and authorize the alteration of parts of the mine's ventilation system to "direct additional air to the area where the inspection was to take place, in order to conceal and cover up the quantity of air that normally reached that area of the mine," according to the court documents.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and WOWK. All Rights Reserved.
