Hearing For Former Massey Official Delayed

{Beckley, West Virginia}…Friday, a federal judge in Beckley granted a request to delay the plea hearing of David Hughart, the former president of Massey Energy's White Buck Coal Co., delayed until February 28th. Hughart is accused of working with unnamed co-conspirators to ensure miners at White Buck and other Massey-owned operations got advance warning about surprise federal inspections between 2000 and March 2010. The judge agreed to give defense attorney Michael Whitt more time to review the case after allowing former attorney Tim Carrico to withdraw over an unidentified conflict of interest.