West Virginia Mine Boss to Be Sentenced

The former superintendent of the Upper Big Branch Mine will be sentenced Oct. 4 for his actions before the disaster that killed 29 men.

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.

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.