Blankenship Asks to Travel for the Holidays

After being convicted on a misdemeanor, ex-Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship wants to go home for the holidays. A defense filing asks U.S. District Judge Irene Berger if Blankenship can return to Nevada from Dec. 19 through Jan. 5 to be with his fiancé and their families. His travel is restricted to southern West Virginia, Pike County, Kentucky, and Washington, D.C. Blankenship was found guilty last week of conspiring to willfully violate mine safety rules, punishable by one year maximum in prison. He was acquitted on felonies that could have stretched his sentence to 30 years. Another Blankenship motion Tuesday says his $5 million bond should drop to $250,000. He also wants travel restrictions and a ban on contacting certain former Massey employees to be nullified.