FBI locks down Pilot HQ?

#310
#310
smashmouth98 said:
did Jimmy know the rebates were being denied on purpose??
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Most likely. Purely speculation on my part, but I bet the CEO that ran the company for a short time before jimmy came back from retirement became aware of what was going on and was replaced to keep it silent. It was very odd at how quickly he went away after they made a huge deal about his hiring.
 
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#311
#311
davethevol said:
Most likely. Purely speculation on my part, but I bet the CEO that ran the company for a short time before jimmy came back from retirement became aware of what was going on and was replaced to keep it silent. It was very odd at how quickly he went away after they made a huge deal about his hiring.
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Good observation...if you've worked for a big(highly structured) company you're familiar with moves such as this......a lot of people read this board...does anyone know Allen Wright who worked for Pilot/Flying J for almost 30 years until he retired last year from a position of a senior manager but remains a consultant
 
#312
#312
#313
#313
smashmouth98 said:
did Jimmy know the rebates were being denied on purpose??
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If you read some of John Freeman's quotes that the FBI recorded, then yes, he did know.

I've heard nothing about the Feds going after Freeman and those above him and frankly, I am not clear on what exactly they did that was illegal. While some of the offenses are morally wrong, not paying someone a full rebate is not exactly white collar crime.

Mail fraud is all I have heard/seen thus far. This sure sounds like this is an agenda-driven bust by the Feds so far.
 
#314
#314
Toevol said:
The AP story has two errors in the first two paragraphs! Why am I not surprised???? No point in reading this crap as I assume the rest of the story written is erroneous.

WTH happened to true journalism? This is crap.
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The only thing relevant in journalism anymore is speed. No one even takes the time to correct a story anymore, because people only remember the first thing they hear.
 
#315
#315
Toevol said:
If you read some of John Freeman's quotes that the FBI recorded, then yes, he did know.

I've heard nothing about the Feds going after Freeman and those above him and frankly, I am not clear on what exactly they did that was illegal. While some of the offenses are morally wrong, not paying someone a full rebate is not exactly white collar crime.

Mail fraud is all I have heard/seen thus far. This sure sounds like this is an agenda-driven bust by the Feds so far.
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Criminal penalties could include conspiracy to commit fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and possibly money laundering. Also in extreme cases possible RICO violations.

Civil penalties are endless. Deceptive trade practices, restraint of trade, predatory pricing.......et al.
 
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#316
#316
Toevol said:
The AP story has two errors in the first two paragraphs! Why am I not surprised???? No point in reading this crap as I assume the rest of the story written is erroneous.

WTH happened to true journalism? This is crap.
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I'm not that close to it, and have only been following because of the tie back to UT through the Haslam's, but what are the errors..
 
#317
#317
vol_in_ar said:
I'm not that close to it, and have only been following because of the tie back to UT through the Haslam's, but what are the errors..
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One is very obvious. Pilot is NOT based in Nashville....of course it is based in Knoxville. And secondly, the writer makes it appear as if Bill Haslam is an active owner in the business, when Bill has not been involved in the business in years.

No doubt, the writer has no idea what he is talking about here, and I believe that he, as an AP writer only has an ax to grind with politicians that aren't liberal. Conceivably, that could be the exact reason the Feds got involved with this deal to start with.

The Haslams do A LOT for Knoxville and for UT, and this crap will only hurt UT. Some of it is legit, but I believe most of it is just hype.
 
#318
#318
Toevol said:
One is very obvious. Pilot is NOT based in Nashville....of course it is based in Knoxville. And secondly, the writer makes it appear as if Bill Haslam is an active owner in the business, when Bill has not been involved in the business in years.

No doubt, the writer has no idea what he is talking about here, and I believe that he, as an AP writer only has an ax to grind with politicians that aren't liberal. Conceivably, that could be the exact reason the Feds got involved with this deal to start with.

The Haslams do A LOT for Knoxville and for UT, and this crap will only hurt UT. Some of it is legit, but I believe most of it is just hype.
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I'm not attempting to be argumentative or play devils advocate here but the reason Pilot or any company for that matter does ' a lot of good things for Knoxville and UT' is because its good business to do so....its a part of any successful business plan....I know that sounds cynical but its true....in fact I would make the argument that we all do that....with introspection I certainly do....IE...I've been a 'Big Brother' for almost 40 years....I got started to help build my resume...I enjoy it but I've certainly gotten more (mostly just the feeling of feeling good about myself) than I've received....

All of Pilots 'good deeds' have a potential of paying off big in regards to this issue....as we've seen these are business men and they don't do anything without considering its ramifications and because NOT because it makes them feel good.....believe me it has paid for its self many times over in the past...
 
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#319
#319
Toevol said:
The Haslams do A LOT for Knoxville and for UT, and this crap will only hurt UT. Some of it is legit, but I believe most of it is just hype.
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It's great that the Haslams have given so much to UT. But they are jerks. These are the same people that were guilty of price gouging a few years back. Jim and Bill are slimeballs, and they have been getting away with a lot of stuff because they've essentially paid off the community with their donations.
 
#320
#320
Toevol said:
The Haslams do A LOT for Knoxville and for UT, and this crap will only hurt UT. Some of it is legit, but I believe most of it is just hype.
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so you believe them defrauding customers is just hype? Quite a few former employees singing and there are tapes
 
#322
#322
utvolpj said:
so you believe them defrauding customers is just hype? Quite a few former employees singing and there are tapes
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I do. Yes, it is morally wrong to do this, and I don't agree with it, but my point is that there are a lot of worse things going on in the business world. If you look at a trend from the federal government for the last 5 years, then it is clear (to me at least) that conservative owned businesses and organizations have been targeted.
With Haslam being a republican Governer, the feds wanted to make this a score! A year ago I would have just absorbed this incident without examining all the factors, but with the events in the last year with the IRS, HHS, etc, you just can longer walk around with blinders on.
 
#323
#323
Toevol said:
I do. Yes, it is morally wrong to do this, and I don't agree with it, but my point is that there are a lot of worse things going on in the business world. If you look at a trend from the federal government for the last 5 years, then it is clear (to me at least) that conservative owned businesses and organizations have been targeted.
With Haslam being a republican Governer, the feds wanted to make this a score! A year ago I would have just absorbed this incident without examining all the factors, but with the events in the last year with the IRS, HHS, etc, you just can longer walk around with blinders on.
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rebates are contracts. They are hard to track and some customers just don't have the time or resources to check every penny. This is theft and not political

We had a similar thing happen in my company (not on this scale and not this widespread) and they are facing charges now
 
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#324
#324
davethevol said:
It's great that the Haslams have given so much to UT. But they are jerks. These are the same people that were guilty of price gouging a few years back. Jim and Bill are slimeballs, and they have been getting away with a lot of stuff because they've essentially paid off the community with their donations.
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I'm not sure exactly what sort of situation you are referring to, but I have never found Bill to be anything less than a great guy. I've never had any dealings with either Jim Sr or Jr., so I can't comment on them.

Sure, they push their weight around somewhat, and I would agree that some of the merit for giving is PR, but I believe they go WAY past that in their giving. UT and Knoxville are damn lucky to have this family in our community, IMO. And no, they aren't friends of mine nor do I work for Pilot.
 
#325
#325
Toevol said:
I'm not sure exactly what sort of situation you are referring to, but I have never found Bill to be anything less than a great guy. I've never had any dealings with either Jim Sr or Jr., so I can't comment on them.

Sure, they push their weight around somewhat, and I would agree that some of the merit for giving is PR, but I believe they go WAY past that in their giving. UT and Knoxville are damn lucky to have this family in our community, IMO. And no, they aren't friends of mine nor do I work for Pilot.
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Does it matter that the money donated came at the expense of truckers? Many of whom are small independents with little sophistication trying to survive in a world of rising gas prices.
 
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