Upper Big Branch mine boss to be sentenced Oct. 4

BECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) — The former superintendent of the Upper Big Branch Mine will be sentenced Oct. 4 for his actions before the disaster that killed 29 men.

The April 2010 explosion was the nation’s worst mine disaster in 40 years. The mine was operated by Massey Energy, which was later bought by Virginia-based Alpha Natural Resources Inc.

U.S. District Judge Irene Berger had scheduled Gary May’s sentencing for August in Beckley, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Ruby asked her to postpone.

Berger agreed and entered her order late Monday.

May is cooperating in an ongoing criminal investigation of the April 2010 explosion. Ruby says investigators need more time to fully develop that cooperation.

May pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to defraud the federal government. He’s the highest-ranking mine official charged so far in the blast.

Ex-security chief Hughie Elbert Stover is appealing his conviction and a three-year sentence for lying to investigators.

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