4 ex-coal mine officials cleared in Kentucky fraud trial

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A federal jury has cleared four former coal company officials who were accused of skirting dust rules in two underground Kentucky mines.

The jury in U.S. District Court in Louisville deliberated Wednesday for about two hours before returning not guilty verdicts. The trial was a rare attempt to prosecute coal company officials on criminal charges.

Federal prosecutors had alleged that the men ordered subordinates to tamper with dust collection equipment at two Armstrong Coal mines in order to stay in compliance with federal regulations.

But defense attorneys said prosecutors lacked evidence that the men had taken part in a conspiracy to cheat the rules.

Kent Wicker, a Louisville attorney, said there “was never a scrap of evidence” that his client, Glendal “Buddy” Hardison, was guilty.

“We were gratified the jury understood,” Wicker said.

Hardison, the highest ranking company official of the four, was in charge of all of Armstrong's western Kentucky mines. The coal company went bankrupt in 2017.

Jason Grover, a trial litigator with the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, declined to comment after the verdict Wednesday afternoon.

Eight people were originally charged in the case in 2018 and Hardison was added to the case in 2019. Five reached plea agreements with prosecutors to avoid felony charges.

Attorneys for the four men argued throughout the trial that the men took no part in rigging dust pumps and didn't explicitly order anyone to break the rules.

“In this case I knew my client was not guilty,” said Marc S. Murphy, an attorney for Charley Barber, a former superintendent at one of the Armstrong mines. “This case shouldn’t have been prosecuted.”

The federal dust rules exist to protect...