Kentucky man pleads guilty in federal mine fire cover-up
KBSI FOX23 News at 9 p.m.
BENTON, Ill., (KBSI) – A Kentucky man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud federal mine safety regulators after an underground fire at the MC#1 Mine in Franklin County in August 2021.
Timothy Brandon Parsons, 38, of Louisa, Kentucky, entered the plea this week in U.S. District Court. Parsons was working as mine manager on Aug. 12, 2021, when a cutting torch ignited a blaze inside the Franklin County mine.
According to court documents, the fire could not be extinguished within 10 minutes. Instead of following the federally approved emergency plan, Parsons and others chose not to notify the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Despite miners’ detectors showing dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, operations continued while crews attempted to fight the fire over three shifts.
Prosecutors said Parsons later tried to cover up the incident by falsely reporting that a coal transport belt had broken. MSHA became aware of the fire after receiving an anonymous tip, and inspectors ordered the mine evacuated. Investigators said conspirators later re-entered the mine twice without MSHA’s approval to check the fire and alter conditions so mining could resume.
Authorities also allege the group failed to wear tracking devices and falsified mine records during the cover-up.
Parsons is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 18. He faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
The FBI and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General investigated the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois and the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section are prosecuting.
