Judge denies sentencing extension of former UBB superintendant
By Jessica Y. Lilly and the Associated Press
December 20, 2012 ·
The January sentencing of a former superintendent at West Virginia's Upper Big Branch mine will go on as planned. Prosecutors asked for more time.
U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin argued he needed more time to develop Gary May's cooperation.
But U.S. District Judge Irene Berger denied a postponement Friday, saying prosecutors failed to give good reason.
Gary May is set to be sentenced January 17 in Beckley. He pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in March.
May is cooperating with prosecutors in the ongoing criminal investigation of the 2010 explosion at the former Massey Energy mine, where 29 men died. It was the worst U.S. mining disaster in four decades.
Former UBB security chief Hughie Elbert Stover is currently in prison for his conviction on charges that he lied to investigators and ordered a subordinate to destroy documents.