CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Prosecutors have rested their case against four former Pilot Flying J employees accused in a scheme to shortchange trucking customers on fuel rebates.
Former Pilot Flying J President Mark Hazelwood, left (Michael Patrick /Knoxville News Sentinel via AP, File)
News outlets say prosecutors ended Wednesday without calling former Pilot Flying J. Vice President John “Stick” Freeman. The government described Freeman as the scheme’s architect. In one recording, Freeman boasts that Pilot Flying J CEO and Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam “loved it” when the sales team swindled customers. Freeman pleaded guilty in July.
Testimony has shown Freeman was friends with Haslam. The company’s controlled by the family of Haslam and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. They haven’t been charged with any wrongdoing, and the governor has had no recent involvement with the company.
Attorneys for former Pilot Flying J President Mark Hazelwood said they wouldn’t call witnesses.
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