Prior to former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship being convicted of conspiring to willfully violate mine safety standards, four people connected to the mine had been convicted of federal charges.
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n Thomas Harrah - Spent 10 months in jail after pleading guilty in April 2011 to two felonies, faking a foreman's license when he performed key mine safety examinations at the mine between January 2008 and August 2009, and then lying to investigators about his actions. Harrah, a former Massey miner, was transferred from Upper Big Branch to another Massey mine eight months before the April 5, 2010, explosion. State officials had begun disciplinary proceedings over Harrah's coal-mining license about a month before the explosion, and prosecutors never alleged that his actions had anything to do with the disaster.
n Hughie Elbert Stover - Was released in November 2014 after spending 36 months in prison after being convicted by a jury in October 2011 of two felonies, lying to Upper Big Branch investigators and trying to destroy evidence. Stover, a Massey Energy security chief, was convicted of lying to government investigators about Massey's illegal practice of warning underground workers when safety inspectors arrived at its mines and of later trying to have one of his guards get rid of company documents about security procedures at Upper Big Branch.
n Gary May - Spent 21 months in jail after pleading guilty in March 2012 to one felony count of conspiracy to thwart the federal mine safety regulators. May, an Upper Big Branch Mine superintendent, admitted that he plotted with "others known and unknown" to put coal production ahead of worker safety and to conceal the resulting hazards on numerous occasions at the UBB operation. Among other violations, May admitted that he "caused and ordered" the disabling of a methane monitor less than two months before the explosion. He also admitted that he ordered an unidentified person to falsify mine examination records by omitting a hazardous condition - high water that could endanger workers and interfere with the flow of fresh air underground - which was required to be reported and then repaired.
n David C. Hughart - After participating in a drug treatment program, Hughart, who testified in Blankenship's criminal trial, is scheduled to be released on Dec. 12. The longtime Massey official was sentenced to 42 months in jail after he pleaded guilty in February 2013 to one felony count of conspiracy to thwart federal mine safety enforcement and one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to violate U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration standards. Hughart admitted to authorizing or ordering violations of ventilation standards and coal-dust limits meant to prevent explosions. During a plea hearing, Hughart implicated Blankenship in the conspiracy to violate safety rules and cover up those violations.