Pilot Flying J ex-president heard on secret recordings using racial epithets

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., - The then-president of truck stop giant Pilot Flying J made derogatory comments about his boss’ NFL football team and its fans and used racial epithets, including requesting his subordinates play a racist country song, during a meeting of executives, testimony Wednesday showed.

“Where’s our greasy (racial epithet) song?” former Pilot Flying J President Mark Hazelwood said as he and former Pilot Flying J sales executives were gathered for a meeting in October 2012.

A song by country artist David Allan Coe with a two-word title consisting of a racial epithet and a profanity that describes a white man’s upset that his girlfriend had dumped him for a black man could then be heard, with Hazelwood and his subordinates singing along.

'It's enough to make a man throw up'

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Hamilton played for jurors in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga on Wednesday snippets from secret recordings made by former Pilot Flying J sales executive Vincent Greco, who was a secret mole for the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation Division, that included the song and other racial and derogatory commentary by Hazelwood and other executives gathered at a lake house in Rockwood in October 2012 for a meeting.

Hamilton highlighted for jurors a lyric from the Coe song that reads, “It’s enough to make a man throw up. Sure is hard to figure how any decent girl could ever (expletive) a greasy (racial epithet).”

Hazelwood, former Pilot Flying J vice president Scott “Scooter” Wombold and former account representatives Heather Jones and Karen Mann have been standing trial since November on wire and mail fraud conspiracy charges in connection with a five-year scheme to rip off small trucking companies by promising them big discounts on diesel fuel in return for loyalty to the truck stop giant but paying them far less.

Fourteen former Pilot Flying J executives and account representatives have pleaded guilty. Two others, including Greco, were granted immunity. Pilot Flying J’s board of directors has admitted criminal responsibility. Chief Executive Officer Jimmy Haslam, who owns the Cleveland Browns, is not charged and denies any knowledge of the fraud scheme.

More recordings remain sealed

The recordings played for jurors Wednesday did not represent the entirety of the secret audio that U.S. District Judge Curtis Collier has called “vile” and “despicable." Hamilton said the government opted to scale back just how much of the racist chatter to play for jurors.

But USA Today Network-Tennessee on Wednesday asked Collier to unseal transcripts of the entirety of the recordings Hamilton had indicated he wanted to play as well as related court filings – all of which remain under seal.

Collier set a hearing Friday on the news organization’s request. He turned aside a request by USA Today Network-Tennessee for transcripts given to jurors of the snippets played in court, saying the transcripts were not entered into the record as evidence. The audio of the recordings played in court was inaudible to courtroom spectators at times, and it was not always clear who was speaking.

But Hamilton flashed onto a computer screen the portion of the transcript showing Hazelwood requesting the Coe song. That transcript showed Hazelwood’s song request was greeted by former sales executive Arnie Ralenkotter with the words, “How’s that sensitivity training coming?”

The recordings revealed racist and derogatory comments by Hazelwood and his subordinates about the Browns, the team's losing record and its fans. Hazelwood and his subordinates mocked the Browns’ most avid fans, who call themselves “Dawgs” and sit in a section of the Browns’ stadium known as the “Dawg Pound.”

Hazelwood and his subordinates repeatedly used racial epithets and mocked the residents of Cleveland and the city of Oakland, Calif., which is home to the Oakland Raiders.

Hazelwood could also be heard criticizing Pilot’s board of directors, naming two members in particular – FedEx CEO Fred Smith and former Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott. He called them a profane name in the recordings.

Pilot Flying J: 'Disturbed and appalled'

Pilot Flying J issued a statement Wednesday saying the firm was “very disturbed and appalled by the extremely offensive and deplorable comments recorded over five years ago involving a small group of (now) former sales employees. This kind of behavior is reprehensible, not tolerated, nor reflective of the guiding principles of Pilot Flying J … No current team member of Pilot Flying J was present or participated in this incident.”

Prosecutors Hamilton and David Lewen sought to play the recordings after Hazelwood’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, began through his cross-examination of witnesses to advance a defense theory that Hazelwood was too savvy a businessman to ever engage in behavior, like fraud, that would damage Pilot Flying J’s reputation. He also played a video in which Hazelwood posed as a truck driver, “Mark the driver,” in which Hazelwood praised truckers as fans of Nascar, football and family.

The prosecutors argued that although the racist recordings were inflammatory and did not directly address the fraud scheme, they were proof that Hazelwood was willing to engage in conduct that could damage Pilot Flying J’s reputation.

Collier cautioned jurors that the recordings were not evidence of fraud and could not be used to sway them against the defendants simply because of the racist content. He specifically told jurors the recordings were not relevant evidence against Mann and Jones, who were not present at the October 2012 meeting at the lake house of former vice president John “Stick” Freeman.

Freeman has pleaded guilty and is expected to testify at some point in the trial. It’s not yet clear when he will take the witness stand.

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