CRIME & COURTS New judge tapped for trial of former Pilot Flying J executive A new judge is stepping onto the bench for the pending trial of eight former Pilot Flying J executives accused in a plot to rob small trucking firms of millions in promised diesel fuel rebates. The U.S. Senate voted last month to approve the elevation of U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar to the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals - the first judicial nominee by President Donald Trump to clear the Senate. In this May 18, 2006 file photo Judge Amul Thapar talks with The Associated Press in Lexington, Ky. Ed Reinke, AP That meant Thapar needed to drop all cases in which he was involved as federal judge. Those cases included the ongoing criminal prosecution of a diesel fuel rebate rip-off that has cost Pilot Flying J, the nation's largest diesel fuel retail outlet, millions in lawsuit and criminal settlements. On Friday, Chief U.S. District Judge Tom Varlan tapped U.S. District Judge Curtis L. Collier to helm the pending trial of eight Pilot Flying J executives, including then-President Mark Hazelwood, in Thapar's stead. New judge tapped for trial of former Pilot Flying J executives
