Associated Press Published

Indicted Ex-Coal CEO, Don Blankenship, Requests Court Permission to Take N.C. Business Trip

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Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship wants a judge to let him take a business trip to North Carolina.

Blankenship made the request Friday in federal court in Beckley.

Blankenship’s request says he wants to take a three-day trip to the Raleigh area sometime between Aug. 17 and Sept. 18.

Blankenship is charged with conspiring to violate safety standards at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia where an explosion killed 29 men in 2010. His travel is restricted to southern West Virginia, Pike County in Kentucky, and Washington, D.C.

In June, Blankenship was allowed to watch his son compete in an Ohio dirt track race. He also has requested multiple visits to Las Vegas, where he says he lives. A judge granted one trip for Thanksgiving.