A panel of federal judges on the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has truck down the convictions of the former President of Pilot Flying J and two former members of the sales team. The three had been convicted on felony charges stemming from the infamous fuel rebate scam.
Mark Hazelwood was the highest-ranking member of Pilot Flying J to be charged with a crime over the fuel rebate scandal which saw FBI agents raiding the company’s headquarters in 2013. He was found guilty of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and witness tampering.
During his trial, the prosecution played a recording for the jury where Hazelwood and others can be heard discussing the scam. During that discussion, Hazelwood and others can be heard using offensive language.
“The jury heard over eight minutes of recordings,” the majority opinion from the Appeals Court reads. “Hazelwood and his companions make absurdly offensive remarks about African Americans and women and laugh along to a wrenchingly racist and misogynistic tune that they called the ‘greasy (N-word) song.’ Hazelwood uses the (N-word) no less than seven times, 12 variations on (an expletive) fourteen times, and (another expletive) three times.”
According to the Appeals Court, Hazelwood did not receive a fair trial because the recording “created a strong risk that the jury would convict him based on factors other than the charged conduct.”
Hazelwood had been serving a 12½-year sentence. There is no word yet on whether the prosecution will seek to bring the case to a full panel of judges to have the judgement reconsidered.
Source: truckinginfo, freightwaves, knoxnews, wrcbtv
The haslem family including the governor has the moolah. That’s all it takes in America.
So he was released BECAUSE he used the N word!?
It’s a brave new world…🤷♂️
No he was centanced because he used the N word
Exactly. I wonder what would have happened if he had used a racist word referring to Caucasians like , maybe “honky”.
Or “cracker” ?
Who said he didn’t?
No, he was sentenced because he committed numerous examples and charges of fraud. The fact that he’s a POS racist was not something that violated any law in the case, but it probably didn’t make him any more likable to the jury. (One never knows. There could have been people in the jury who was just as happily racist as the defendant, and who didn’t hold it against the guy, but they convicted him anyway on the strength of the evidence.)
I’m thinking that’s what they are saying. I bet Paula Dean,John Schnatter and a long list of others would find this a little unreal.
Agreed. I find it astounding. He admitted his culpability, as well as foul language.
That speaks to his character, as well as his guilt.
Take the admission. Ignore the language. He was caught. Period.
So, he was sentenced because he said something politically incorrect and the sentence was struck down for the same reason.
What justice?
Note to future self: When discussing any crime you do or have done SWEAR to high heaven in the most offensive way possible.
In the most “RACIST” and offensive way possible.
Just to get your point across
The recording was part of the evidence to how the scandal operates to steal money from the carriers rebate program.
The Jury’s guilty verdict is overturn by a panel of Judges ?
Another waste of tax payers money for an excuse to not serve time.
This is what big money for good lawyers can do; get you out on a technicality.
The system is rigged!
Corporate America is completely protected by the “legal system “.
Everything is connected.
Flush the Turd November 3rd.
What does the election have to do with this article?
Over a third of the judges on the 6th Circuit were appointed by Trump.
It’s very racist of you to call Kamala the Ugandan Giant a turd.
Nothing to do with Trump. It was a liberal judge who loves criminals
Romey, stop texting while learning how to drive!!! Turd!!!
Wow… Guy is discussing the scam for which he is guilty of on a recording, but he discusses it in such an evil and disgusting way that his conviction was overturned?
Brutal.
What’s wrong with judging a man for what he said and what he did he should go to prison
The defense is trying to claim that the jury was unduly prejudiced by the guy’s admittedly disgusting racist remarks, and that they convicted him because of his racism instead of convicting him because he was a crook.
Must of been a Republican judge sticking up for his own.
It must be so nice to be an executive worth millions of dollars that your money enables you to bribe the federal court system. Never-mind the facts in the case which saw evidence of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and witness tampering. These vermin get a “free pass” because some disgusting counsel uses a “technicality” to release white collar criminals back into the world.
We’ve all said things we’ve later regretted. That’s not the issue here. The issue is these men committed felonies and were judged accordingly. This is why the system is corrupt.
You have corrupt judges, corrupt legal counsel and corrupt politicians using any means possible to excuse illegal actions as long as millions of dollars are at stake.
Is it any wonder some blacks have become enraged against White Supremacy? Not to me. This is a perfect example. Racism is alive and well and Federal judges are most often to blame.
What amazes me is the Chief Judge of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals is Black. He was appointed by Bill Clinton. Need I say more?
Your conjecture on this matter is as much a part of the problem as is the ruling at issue. The issue in this story is the law, not the people. Whether race plays any part in this ruling has never been established. Only the fact that proper court procedures to introduce inflammatory evidence was not followed. The inference I get is that we are dealing with a zealous prosecutor and a bias judge.
Is the core of a persons character measured by who they are, or by the color of their skin? Furthermore, does it serve anyone when they choose to exploit their race to define the character?
The dissenting judge said the recording was admissible because it was offered as rebuttal. Seems pretty cut and dry, unless Pilot is owned by an ex governor and the owner of a NFL team. A honest judiciary would have ruled more along the lines of “you can’t throw the baby put with the bathwater” JMO
How the heck can this work if “anything that might be offensive” cannot be heard/seen by the jury??
We’ve entered a horrendous chapter of history where those who cannot control their own emotional responses can be allowed to hijack or subvert the very justice system.
The justice system is NOT the mommy-protector of your self-fractured emotional state! A juror who is weak enough that emotional triggering can marginalize them should be vetted out early in the selection process.
It’s not a matter of not letting the jury see “anything that might be offensive”. It’s a matter of making sure that besides rendering a verdict, the jury should and must be rendering the verdict for the right reasons, I.e. because of the evidence proving the guy was a crook, and not because the guy was admittedly a disgusting POS racist.
The defense is trying to claim that the jury convicted the SOB for the wrong reasons (the guy’s racism) I instead of for the right reasons (the evidence proving that the guy was a crook.)
Don’t hate the player, hate the game.
He obviously wasn’t convicted by a jury OF HIS PEERS…..
He obviously wasn’t convicted by a “jury of his peers”
Well, if they get out I am sure they will not be able to get a job with the use of a N-word and all.
The “Just Us” systems we all rely on have never been about the real truth. Just what some are able to convince a court, “is”. Maybe this case should have gone to mistrial so the hate speech could be addressed separately and first. That way a jury could hear the recording(s) knowing that those crimes have already been established and gone through the court. Ruling that the evidence is too predigest for a jury to hear is in itself a miscarriage of justice. A Voir Dire hearing should have been held to address this issue. The prosecutors of today are not interested in following the law either.
” The Jerk is still on youtube ! “
A true Judas judge if the American people.
Remember as I said earlier. Not only did the Haslem family own Pilot…the other brother was the governor of Tenn. at the time unbeknownst to mist.ppl..
No money. No Justice. Period!!!
The guy can ask for a new trial. But, on the strength of the evidence, I think that even if he gets a new trial, they will convict the SOB again. At this time, he won’t be able to raise possible jury prejudice as an excuse for why he was convicted.
He was released because his Attorneys made a deal on a technicality that would create a diversion that the average air head would never notice.
Witness tampering though; is a VERY SERIOUS CHARGE , SO IS MAIL FRAUD.
Who gives a hot damn when you throw the N-WORD IN THE PICTURE. 😲
Man; you gotta Love Black People or the Attorneys; or both! 🗽🤑