FBI: Mine disaster families 'may be victim of a federal crime'

Apr 22 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Ken Ward Jr. The Charleston Gazette, W.Va.

The FBI has informed families of the miners who died at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch Mine that they may be the victims of a federal crime, the Gazette has learned.

Earlier this week, families received letters from the FBI informing them that they may be eligible for certain government services provided to crime victims under federal law.

The two-page letter was signed by Joseph I. Ciccarelli, supervisory special agent for the FBI's Charleston field office and also carried the name of Michael A. Rodriguez, special agent in charge of the agency's Pittsburgh office.

"As you may be aware, the FBI has instituted an investigation into various activities at UBB in an effort to determine whether any Federal crimes have occurred," the letter said. "In connection therewith, you may be a victim of a Federal crime."

The letter continued, "This investigation can be a lengthy process and we request your continued patience while we conduct a thorough investigation."

The FBI letter was dated March 28, but was not received by some families until earlier this week. A copy was obtained by the Gazette.

Neither Ciccarelli nor Rodriguez was immediately available for comment this morning.

Among other things, victims of federal crimes are entitled to updates from the government about the status of their case, the right to be heard at certain court proceedings, and to protection from the accused.

U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin in Charleston, whose office has filed two criminal cases related to the Upper Big Branch mine and continues an investigation of the April 5, 2010, disaster, declined comment on the letter, which was sent directly by the FBI and not by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Goodwin's office has charged the security director of Massey's Performance Coal Co. subsidiary, which operated Upper Big Branch, with lying to investigators and trying to destroy evidence in the case. The security director, Hughie Elbert Stover, has pleaded innocent to the charges.

Also, Goodwin's office has secured a guilty plea from a former Massey miner who for nearly two years conducted safety examinations at Upper Big Branch without having the foreman's license required for such work. Thomas Harrah agreed to a plea bargain in which he admitted that he used a fake foreman's license number and then lied to federal investigators about the matter.

Documents previously made public indicate that federal criminal investigators are looking not only at the Upper Big Branch explosion, but also examining potential criminal activity related to hundreds of safety and health violations cited at the Massey mine as far back as 2006.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kward@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.