DON BLANKENSHIP FALLS ON HARD TIMES - Massey Found Guilty In Miner's Deaths, Sorta

(04/16/2009)

Hard times have fallen on Massey CEO Don Blankenship. The chairman and CEO of the large coal company received $19.7 million in compensation in 2008 - a 17% decrease from the previous year. Massey's stock fell 61% in 2008. This week, a federal judge has fined a Massey Energy subsidiary $2.5 million after accepting its guilty plea to 10 criminal charges stemming from a fire that killed two West Virginia miners. U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver approved Aracoma Coal's plea deal, which did not hold Massey officials responsible for the safety violations, preventing their prosecution. Charleston U.S. Attorney Charles Miller said federal law limits criminal prosecutions of mining accidents to willful violations of safety standards and falsifying records.

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