Upper Big Branch Mine Security Chief Indicted

The first indictment has been issued in a criminal probe into last year's explosion at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch Mine that left 29 coal miners dead.The mine's Chief of Security Hughie Stover has been accused of lying to investigators and trying to destroy mine records, reports the Charleston Gazette. Stover is accused of falsely telling federal agents in January 2011 that Massey’s Performance Coal Co. had a policy dating back to 1999 that forbade security guards from giving advance notice of inspections. The indictment alleges that Stover “had himself directed and trained security guards … to give advance notice by announcing the presence of an MSHA inspector over” the mine radio.