Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 12, 1994 TAG: 9405120196
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER Note: below
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Federal indictments returned Wednesday allege that managers of Southmountain Coal Co. not only knew miners smoked underground, but that they authorized and participated in the practice.
"Further investigation has revealed that the company was aware that smoking was going on," U.S. Attorney Robert Crouch Jr. said.
The indictment by a grand jury in Abingdon is the second round of federal charges against Southmountain and its supervisors in connection with the deadly explosion.
A January indictment alleged that the coal company and two of its supervisors - Freddie Carl Deatherage and Kenneth Ray Brooks - repeatedly violated mining laws that would have prevented the buildup of methane gas and that the company falsified records to cover up the violations.
The new indictments include charges that Brooks, along with mine foremen Paul Douglas Ramey and David Lee Goode, performed sham searches of miners for smoking materials. They also allege that Brooks and Goode smoked in the mine while acting as foreman.
Deatherage additionally was charged with covering up the fact that an adequate search program was not enforced at the mine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Bondurant, who will prosecute the cases, said Ramey and Goode were charged in separate indictments because the government intends to call them as witnesses against Southmountain and Detherage.
An October trial has been scheduled for Southmountain, and Bondurant said he doesn't expect the 35-count superseding indictment to delay the trial.
Southmountain, which no longer has any active mining operations in Virginia, faces $9 million in fines.
Jack Kennedy, one of Southmountain's attorneys, said Wednesday that the company had not yet been served with the indictment and wouldn't comment until it had time to review the new charges.
Deatherage, 42, of Jenkins, Ky., is charged with five counts of falsifying records and faces 30 years in prison and up to $2.5 million in fines.
Brooks, 57, of Clintwood, faces 15 years in prison and up to $1.8 million in fines for the two felony and five misdemeanor counts against him.
Goode, 37 of Coeburn, was charged with smoking violations and perjury. He faces 12 years in prison and a $700,000 fine.
Ramey, 43 of Clintwood, was charged with smoking and roof control violations and faces three years in prison and a $300,000 fine.
Crouch said the investigation by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration will continue and that more indictments could be issued in the case.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB