7/23/19: Trump suffers fresh defeat in the “War on Coal” when Blackjewel, the mining affiliate of Revelation Industry, and Revelation Industry, file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As for the miners, they learn the news the hard way, when final paychecks bounce.
Suddenly, 1,700 men and women across several states find
themselves blocked from pulling money from 401(k) programs, wondering if
they’ll be repaid for the bounced checks, and unsure if they have health
insurance. The
reaction of Mark Turner, a Kentucky miner is typical. “It’s been very hard,” he
tells reporters, “not knowing if you’re going to be able to put food on the
table for your three kids.” He’s not sure he’ll be able to meet his next house
payment, keep the electricity on, or buy new clothes and supplies for his
children when the school year begins.
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Blackjewel screwed their miners. |
The more you delve into this story the more malodorous it becomes. Blackjewel withheld $1.2 million from payroll earmarked for miner’s 401(k)’s. The company failed to deposit an additional $900,000 in matching funds. The company withheld $8.3 million in social security contributions and taxes, but neglected to hand it over to local, state, and federal governments. Blackjewel fell in arrears to the tune of $63 million in royalties owed for mining on federal lands.
Meanwhile, CEO Jeff Hoops was doing well enough, as late as March, to sink $30 million into a resort project in West Virginia. The “Grand Patrician Resort,” he said, would include an upscale hotel, a chapel for destination weddings, a nine-hole golf course – replicating famous par three holes round the world – and a 3,500-seat coliseum modeled on the Colosseum in Rome.
In a recent court hearing, it was also revealed that Hoops transferred a total of $79 million between Blackjewel
and his private bank accounts, and then sometimes back again the same day. He may
have kept $34 million for himself.
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A FEDERAL JURY HAS CONVICTED Bijan Rafiekian, former business partner of General Michael T. Flynn, and a Trump transition advisor, on two felony charges related to work the two performed for Turkish interests during the final months of the 2016 Trump presidential campaign.
At issue was a $600,000 lobbying and public relations contract and Rafiekian’s failure to register as a foreign agent.
The two-time felon now faces up to 15 years in jail, although he is likely to serve far less time.
BLOGGER’S NOTE (4/25/21): We know that Flynn later
insisted his guilty plea wasn’t legit; and Trump later pardoned his ass. In the
case of Mr. Rafiekian, the judge threw out the jury verdict, a highly unusual
move. In March 2021 the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a unanimous
ruling, reinstated his conviction.
