Convicted former energy company CEO Don Blankenship won’t have to pay a coal producer $28 million in restitution related to a mine explosion in 2010 that killed 29 men, a federal judge ruled Monday.
In her order, Judge Irene Berger said ex-Massey Energy chief Blankenship doesn’t have to pay the money to Alpha Natural Resources, which bought Massey in 2011 after the explosion. The Bristol, Va.-based coal company filed for bankruptcy in August.
The ruling was a win for Blankenship, helping him avoid a substantial blow to a personal fortune that he refused to disclose to prosecutors.
“It is hard to see how Alpha could acquire Massey at a discounted price knowing of its problems and claim to be a victim in this case,” Blankenship’s attorney William Taylor said.
Blankenship was convicted on Dec. 3 of a misdemeanor conspiracy to willfully violate mine safety standards at Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. He faces a maximum of one year in prison and a $250,000 fine. He was acquitted of felonies that could have stretched his sentence to 30 years.
According to Berger’s order, Alpha paid $13.5 million to cooperate with the investigation into the explosion at Upper Big Branch. The company incurred $10 million in mine safety violation penalties at the mine and spent $4.3 million to represent officers and employees who participated in the investigation, the order said.
