Jury convicts former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship of misdemeanor count in

They used a key government witness who headed a Massey subsidiary that oversaw Upper Big Branch, Christopher Blanchard, to say safety was important to Blankenship. “The jury’s verdict sends a clear and powerful message: It doesn’t matter who you are, how rich you are, or how powerful you are – if you gamble with the safety of the people who work for you, you will be held accountable”.

Blankenship, who headed up now-defunct Massey Energy until 2010, was indicted last November on charges that he violated federal mine safety rules and health standards at the Upper Big Branch coal mine between 2008 and 2010.

A federal jury in West Virginia convicted Blankenship of conspiring to willfully violate mine safety standards.

While the jury is continuing to deliberate, US attorneys also preemptively filed a motion Wednesday morning asking the court to give the jury a second Allen charge before declaring a mistrial if the jury indicates it is deadlocked again. He was acquitted of a more serious conspiracy charge that could have netted five years in prison.

Though the federal jury in Charleston, West Virginia did find Blankenship guilty of conspiracy, it did not find him guilty of securities fraud or of making false statements after the disaster.

Public Citizen’s Rob Weissman said that “for far too long in this nation’s history, coal operators have recklessly endangered their workers’ lives, with thousands of workers dying in accidents and many hundreds of thousands more dying and suffering from black lung and associated diseases”.

“Though you’re not convicted on all counts, you are convicted”, said Judy Jones Petersen, whose brother Dean Jones was killed. “The CEO and chairman of one of America’s largest coal companies now stands convicted of willful violations of the laws that are created to keep coal miners safe”.

Some friends and family of the victims said they felt a sense of relief over the decision. Blankenship, who was known for his vocal and acerbic responses to the environmental activists and government regulators that targeted Massey over the years, had kept a fairly low profile since the sale of Massey – at least until this trial dragged him back into the spotlight. His conviction is now being viewed as the linchpin of an intensive investigation into Blankenship’s company, Massey Energy.

Labor groups heralded the conviction as a strong message for corporate CEOs.

Asked for a comment after the trial, Blankenship just winked.

Prosecutors contend that Mr. Blankenship was a bullish micromanager who knew about and meddled in the smallest details at Upper Big Branch. In December that year, the US Justice Department announced that Alpha had agreed to pay a record $209 million to settle a criminal probe into safety violations at the Upper Big Branch mine.