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More Trouble for the Browns?

Hookem Horns

Hookem Horns

Texans Talk Bartender
Staff member
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents on Monday locked down the headquarters of Pilot Flying J, the truck stop business owned by the family of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and his brother, Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam.

FBI spokesman Marshall Stone told The Associated Press that the move was part of an ongoing investigation, but he would not provide additional details. FBI and IRS agents were expected to remain in the building into the evening, he said.

The FBI was keeping all traffic away from the company property, and Knoxville police patrol cars and officers could be seen outside the headquarters.
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http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/sports-nfl/20130415/Pilot.Flying.J-FBI/

Just when you thought maybe they were getting good ownership and might start turning the corner.
 
Obama's IRS is going to be jailing a whole lot more people than any IRS we've seen in many many years.
 
Jimmy Haslam, the FBI & the 158 Pages That Will Cost Him The Browns

Freeman said. "I mean, I called Jimmy and told him I got busted at Western Express."

"What did he say?" the informant asked.

"Oh, he[Jimmy] knew it," Freeman responded.

"Oh, he did?"

"Absolutely. I mean, he knew all along that I was cost-plussin’ this guy. He knew it all along. Loved it. We were making $450,000 a month on him."

"Holy ****!"

"Why wouldn't he love it? Did it for five years, cost us a million bucks. I mean we made six million dollars off the guy, cost us a million."
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I don't hate Jimmy Haslam. I may have had reservations about him, but he owned my favorite team. I kind of had to like the guy.

Then this happened. Below I have outlined my version of a Cliff's notes version of the FBI document on Jimmy Haslam.

I know a lot of fans are hoping for the best, and we will get to the nitty-gritty, but first let me share a quick story.

I was working at WQXI in Atlanta when the Mike Vick story started to break. We had a high-profile attorney that dealt with high-profile cases join our show. Many Falcon fans were still hoping/believing that Vick was going to be okay. One of his lackeys would take the wrap, or his super expensive lawyer was going to get him off.

I never forgot what the Lawyer told us next (paraphrasing):

When the federal Government comes after you in a high-profile manner, you won't know it until it is too late. It's like having a radar detector and coming over a hill to see a cop. Your detector goes off, but it's just telling you that you're busted. The Federal Government is the same way. Once you see them, it's way too late. Sure they will ask you questions, like do you know why you got pulled over, or do you know where the hard drives are, but the jig is up. When it comes to high profile cases, the Feds don't like to look stupid. They have gone over the facts hundreds of times and made sure that it's a slam dunk. We are talking about a star in the NFL, America's most popular game. It's not if he is busted, it's how bad.
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Let's look at what we know...
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drs23 said:
Let's look at what we know...

:popcorn:
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What does this mean for Haslam?
snipped
Already in the fold, the feds have 3 whistle blowers, so much taped audio they were unable to go through everything before issuing warrants, and every hard drive, computer and file they wanted from Pilot.

In other words, the feds have everything they want.

I know people think Haslam will be protected, I think the opposite. The FBI and the IRS don't want the small potatoes guys. They don't even want the president. Sure they will get what is coming, but the feds want the big fish. They don't put on their good clothes to beat up on the weaklings. They want Haslam. Read the report, anytime Haslam is even remotely named, it is highlighted and focused on. He is target number one.

How can they do it? Haslam has been implicated on five different counts, by different people. If there is an e-mail to Haslam showing an improper rebate, which seems like a when sort of thing, not an if at this point, he is cooked.
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The NFL suspended Eddie DeBartlo Jr. for a year after he was caught up in a scheme to get a gambling license for a boat. He later was forced to sell the team to his sister. That was for extortion of $400,000. If the accusations are proven to be true, and they look pretty solid right now, that is a literally a fraction of what Haslam was stealing in a month.
...
My guess? We have a new owner within two years. Don't know how the NFL does it, heck maybe even Haslam bows out on his own. But this isn't going away. Haslam probably is.
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Dan Rooney has got to be steamed ..... he vouched for Haslam. :smiliepalm:
 
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Another class action lawsuit has just been filed in Illinois against Jimmy Haslam and his company Pilot Flying J.
Edis Trucking Inc. claims Haslam and Pilot cheated it out of fuel rebates.
This is the fourth class action lawsuit filed in federal courts in Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi and Illinois. Four additional trucking companies have filed lawsuits in a Knoxville court.

Haslam's company has said it expects additional lawsuits to be filed.
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Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/lo...lying-j-in-rebate-investigation#ixzz2SR1ULrNE
 
It's pretty amazing that an organization like the NFL did not see this coming. You would think they would have some of the most well connected people in America, but apparently not quite enough.
 
Dutchrudder said:
It's pretty amazing that an organization like the NFL did not see this coming. You would think they would have some of the most well connected people in America, but apparently not quite enough.
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Well, I doubt the FBI & IRS felt obligated to share their investigation with the NFL. On the surface, this looked like a super successful businessman. And he was. Who knew his arrogance and stupidity would put him in this position. I know I probably shouldn't be surprised, but I am. How could someone who has so much risk it all on something like this?
 
Remember too that Haslam had been a minority of of the Steelers since 2008. I imagine they did their due diligence before that was approved?
 
Thorn said:
Kinda makes you appreciate our squeaky clean owner.
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Really,

Guess you haven't read about CoGen energy's relationship with Enron and how BoB miraculously managed to sell his stock that he gained from selling his company just before the bottom fell out of Enron?

I'm not looking down on BoB, I'm just saying anybody that has accumulated the kind of wealth that BoB has without having a few skeletons in their closet.
 
steelbtexan said:
Really,

Guess you haven't read about CoGen energy's relationship with Enron and how BoB miraculously managed to sell his stock that he gained from selling his company just before the bottom fell out of Enron?

I'm not looking down on BoB, I'm just saying anybody that has accumulated the kind of wealth that BoB has without having a few skeletons in their closet.
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I bet that was just a coincidence. Bob's got great luck. lol.
 
Three more Pilot Flying J workers plead guilty in federal investigation

Three more employees of Browns owners Jimmy Haslam's truck stop chain pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges related to a conspiracy to cheat trucking companies of fuel discounts.

Those who pleaded guilty were Kevin Clark, a regional sales manager who was in Kansas City, Mo.; Holly Radford, a regional account representative who worked at the company's Knoxville headquarters; and Jay Stinnett, whose position with the company is unclear.

Two other employees, regional sales director Arnold Ralenkotter and regional account representative Ashley Judd, pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy charges. Their plea deals, along with Clark's, require them to cooperate with authorities in the investigation.
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Haslam has denied knowing that his employees were cheating customers.
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Pilot exec: Senior management was aware of rebate scheme
Pilot Flying J executive Jay Stinnett began cooperating with the federal investigation into the nation’s largest truck stop chain the same day federal agents raided the company’s corporate headquarters, according to a plea agreement recently unsealed.

Stinnett, who worked as a senior sales director for the Knoxville-based chain, told investigators he knew he was being dishonest when he directed staff to fraudulently reduce fuel rebates due Pilot’s trucking customers.

Stinnett also pointed the finger at members of Pilot’s senior management, telling investigators they were aware of the rebate scheme...
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A little OT, but fitting to the "More Trouble for the Browns" theme.



Taking a cue from the New England Patriots, the Cleveland Browns announced they have released rookie linebacker Ausar Walcott, who was arrested Tuesday and charged with attempted murder for allegedly punching a man outside a club in Northern New Jersey.

This comes a few hours after the Patriots cut ties with tight end Aaron Hernandez after he was arrested.
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So what's the connection between the Browns & the Patriots? Yup, Bill Belichick.


I'm telling you, before all this is said & done with we're going to find out that Belichick is the true Kingpin of Foxboro.
 
Browns' Haslam hit for a loss: Three executives at his family's business plead guilty to fraud-related charges
Haslam has steadfastly denied that he had any knowledge of the scheme. In a statement, Pilot Flying J said it was "disappointed and saddened to learn of any team members admitting to knowingly and intentionally acting in a manner detrimental to the best interests of our customers.''

A federal affidavit, filed last April, says Haslam knew about the scheme because he was in sales meetings in which it was discussed.
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The affidavit says Mosher spoke with employees during a sales meeting in November. The meeting was recorded by a cooperating witness for the FBI.

“Some of ’em, some of ’em don’t know what a spreadsheet is,” Mosher said, according to the affidavit. “I’m not kiddin’. So, again, my point is this: Know your customer . . . If the guy’s sophisticated and he truly has gone out and gotten deals from other competitors and he’s getting daily prices from us, don’t jack his discounts, ’cause he’s gonna know, okay?”

The document said that if a customer was due a $10,000 rebate, Mosher would cut it to $7,500. An informant said Mosher cut the rebates to customers “because it made more money for Pilot and it increased the commission that Mosher and any other Pilot salesperson responsible for the customer would receive.”
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Late last year, Pilot paid $85 million in a settlement with several trucking companies that claimed Haslam's company skimmed fuel rebate and discount payments. That settlement reimbursed truckers for what they were owed, plus 6 percent interest on the debt, and covered their legal costs.
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Do judgements like this ever really mean anything to the owner of such a large company? How does it come out? Is it shown as a company loss? Is it shown as a loss in profit? I'm just asking because I don't know.

It just seems like it is something that hits the company in the wallet and does not have any real impact on the owners day to day life.
 
Browns Trying Out Local Homeless Men at Wide Receiver
“It’s no secret that we have some issues at wide receiver,” said general manager Ray Farmer. “It’s also no secret that the advice of a homeless man caused us to draft Johnny Manziel. So the thought was that we may as well tap the homeless for wide receiver talent.”

Farmer then made a point of saying the homeless receiver initiative was “100-percent the idea of [Browns owner] Jimmy Haslam. I had nothing to do with this.”
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“Problems create opportunities,” said Haslam. “I truly believe that. And homeless people really fit the identify of what I want the Cleveland Browns to be. People overlook the homeless and think they can’t have success. But they’re scrappy and they survive. That’s the mentality I want to bring to the Browns. I want people to think of the Cleveland Browns as the homeless men of the NFL.”
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Trying out homeless people for an NFL roster spot? That's a joke, right?

Well, at least they'll get a good shower out of it.
 
uh..I thought homeless people have much shorter life span? Hey let them or any sports team try whom they wish..just make sure they deduct the taxes from any wages. (I'm thinking about running for Democratic presidential spot against Hilary).
 
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