Ex-coal exec implicates ex-CEO in W.Va. mine case

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BECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) — A former president of a Massey Energy subsidiary implicated the company’s chief executive officer for the first time in safety violations as he pleaded guilty Thursday to charges resulting from an investigation into the 2010 explosion at a Massey mine that killed 29 men.

David Hughart, 54, entered the plea to two federal conspiracy charges in U.S. District Court. He was accused of working with others to ensure miners at White Buck Coal Co. and other Massey-owned operations got advance warning about surprise federal inspections between 2000 and March 2010.

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