Ex-Massey CEO Scorned Over Mine Disaster as Charges Filed

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The former Massey Energy chief, scorned by regulators and a U.S. senator, may face three decades in prison if convicted of charges stemming from a West Virginia mine explosion that killed 29 workers, the worst U.S. coal industry accident in almost 40 years.

Donald Blankenship was charged in an indictment by a U.S. grand jury in Charleston, West Virginia, with violating federal mine safety standards, impeding regulator efforts to inspect the Upper Big Branch mine and securities fraud. Massey was acquired by Alpha Natural Resources Inc. in 2011 for $7.1 billion.