Federal investigators say the former superintendent of the Upper Big Branch Mine in southern West Virginia took a variety of actions that made the mine unsafe. On April 5, 2010, an explosion killed 29 men in the mine.
Now the ex-superintendent, Gary May, 43, has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the federal government. It is the second charge against an Upper Big Branch official.
If allegations by U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin , in the Southern District of West Virginia, are accurate, May should be punished severely.
Goodwin has said his investigation is continuing. It should proceed until everyone involved in making the mine a death trap is prosecuted.
