CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A former Massey Energy official sentenced to spend more than three years in federal prison in 2013 could testify Tuesday in the criminal trial of former Massey CEO Don Blankenship.
Federal prosecutors told Blankenship’s attorneys after court back on Friday they planned to call David Hughart to the stand on the next day of court.
Hughart, 56, of Crab Orchard, pleaded guilty in Feb. 2013, to a pair of conspiracy charges. He impeded MSHA and illegally warned some Massey coal operations when surprise federal mine inspections were about to take place. He did not work at the Upper Big Branch mine.
A motion filed by Blankenship’s attorneys Monday, a day off for the trial, asked U.S. District Judge Irene Berger to unseal a sealed portion of Hughart’s plea hearing that took place during a bench conference. The defense also wants information from the Hughart’s presentencing report. The motion filed Monday said federal prosecutors did not oppose the request.
When Hughart was sentenced in Sept. 2013 he became the third Massey official to go to prison as part of the federal investigation into the company following the UBB explosion in 2010 that claimed the lives of 29 miners. The security director at UBB, Hughie Stover, was sentence to three years in prison for making false statements during the federal investigation and former UBB Superintendent Gary May was sentenced to 21 months in prison for violating mine safety regulations.
If Hughart takes the stand Tuesday, he would be the first of those to testify against Blankenship, their former boss.
Hughart was president of Massey’s Green Valley Resource Group, which ran several subsidiaries including White Buck Coal in Nicholas County.
“This is an individual who was the president of a group of mines,” U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin told MetroNews following Hughart’s Sept. 2013 sentencing. “Perhaps the highest ranking mine official ever sentenced in such an investigation.”
Blankenship is charged with conspiracy to break federal mine safety laws in favor of production at UBB. He also allegedly lied to federal investment regulators following the 2010 explosion.
Testimony Friday afternoon focused on five recorded conversations from Blankenship’s office. The conversations were about his pay, investments, the company’s worth and his relationship with the Massey board.