NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A U.S. appellate panel on Wednesday tossed convictions for the former president of Pilot Flying J and two of his former employees related to a rebate scheme to cheat trucking companies out of millions of dollars.
A split three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reasoned that jurors should not have been played recordings of racist language by the former president, Mark Hazelwood.
“The district court admitted the recordings on the theory that if the defendant was reckless enough to use language that could risk public outrage against the company, he was a ‘bad businessman,’ and as a bad businessman, he was also reckless enough to commit fraud,” Judge Richard Suhrheinrich wrote for the majority. “This is vintage bad character evidence — and precisely the type of reasoning the Federal Rules of Evidence forbid.”
The jury heard secret recordings of Hazelwood using racial slurs and profanely criticizing his board of directors and his boss’s football team and fans. Hazelwood later apologized for his language.
Hazelwood was convicted in 2018 of conspiracy, wire fraud and witness tampering. Former company Vice President Scott “Scooter” Wombold was convicted of wire fraud, and former account representative Heather Jones was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.
Hazelwood received a 12 ½-year prison sentence in connection with the scheme to shortchange trucking customers on diesel rebates. Wombold was sentenced to six years and Jones to more than 2 ½ years.
Fourteen former Pilot Flying J employees pleaded guilty earlier.
Pilot Flying J is controlled by the family of Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. The Haslams haven’t been charged with any wrongdoing. The former governor hasn’t been involved with the company in recent years.
The company earlier agreed to pay an $85 million settlement to defrauded customers and a $92 million penalty to the government.
In the dissenting opinion, Judge Bernice Bouie Donald wrote the recordings were admissible in rebuttal to the argument that Hazelwood was a “good businessman.”
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.