Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship and other Massey officials continued a push for coal production that often forced mine management to take shortcuts, even after what defense attorneys are describing as a new focus on reducing safety violations, the federal jury in the criminal case against Blankenship heard Friday.
David Hughart, who was president of Massey's Green Valley mining unit for 15 years, testified that pressure to increase coal output did not end when Blankenship began demanding action on increased citations from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration or after Massey launched a new initiative to reduce workplace hazards.
"It was always just a forced push for production," Hughart told jurors. "Sometimes they would take shortcuts to produce coal."
Hughart wrapped up his testimony on Friday morning just before U.S. District Judge Irene Berger sent the jury home early, ending court at lunchtime with a 20-minute private conference at the bench with lawyers from both sides. Trial is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Monday at the Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse in Charleston.
Defense lawyer Blair Brown started the morning, continuing his cross examination of Hughart, who previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to thwart MSHA by tipping off underground workers when inspectors arrived at Massey mines and conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards. As he did on Thursday afternoon, Brown questioned Hughart about a variety of Massey memos and emails that the defense hopes will convince the jury Blankenship was serious about safety issues.
In one memo, for example, mine managers were being told to shut down working sections underground if safety requirements were not being met. In another, Blankenship had added a hand-written note advocating disciplinary action against employees who were responsible for safety problems.
Hughart testified that he attended an August 2009 meeting at Scott High School that defense lawyers have described as being held to launch a major new Massey initiative to reduce workplace hazards. He said that following that meeting he put together his own plan, based on what was said at the meeting, to reduce violations at the Green Valley mines he managed for Massey.
After blocking such a question on Thursday, Berger allowed Brown to ask Hughart about an incident that occurred the day before he met with U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin and other federal officials to discuss a plea agreement on mine safety charges.
Hughart admitted he was detained by police that day after he bought 120 painkillers he planned to use and distribute. Hughart admitted he was never charged in that incident and subsequently entered into a plea deal with Goodwin in which he agreed to testify against Blankenship.
On redirect by Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg McVey, Hughart testified that he had previously been injured in a mining accident and was prescribed painkillers when that injury flared up. He said he became addicted to the pills after being on them for a period of four to five months. Hughart said he received 10 months off his original 42-month sentence after completing the U.S. Bureau of Prison's drug treatment program.
McVey also tried to rehabilitate Hughart's testimony about safety issues at Massey, walking him through some of the memos that Brown had Hughart testify about and asking if specific safety initiatives had been implemented or if he knew whether violations at the company increased or decreased after the documents were written. Hughart said he had heard that some mines added new rock-dusting equipment after a memo on that subject, but that he wasn't aware of other changes and didn't know what happened with violations after the memos were written.
Blankenship, 65, faces three felony counts alleging that he conspired to violate mine safety standards and thwart government inspectors to cover up the resulting hazards to workers.
He also is charged with making false statements to securities regulators and with securities fraud. Those charges allege that Blankenship issued false public statements touting Massey's safety practices to try to stop company stock - and his personal fortune - from plummeting after an April 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners.
Blankenship is not charged with directly causing the disaster, but the indictment against him outlines a list of serious violations of safety standards that four government and independent investigations say did cause the fatal blast, the worst in West Virginia in a generation.
Check the Gazette-Mail's Coal Tattoo blog for frequent updates on testimony in the Blankenship case, and visit the Blankenship trial page for a timeline, exhibits and other features.
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kward@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1702 or follow @kenwardjr on Twitter.