The Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette-Mail reported today that Don Blankenship, the former CEO of Richmond-based Massey Energy, was found guilty in federal court of conspiring to willfully violate mine safety standards.
The charge is a misdemeanor for which the former executive could face up to a year in prison.
A jury found Blankenship not guilty on two other charges, securities fraud and making false statements after 29 miners were killed in 2010 in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia.