By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Pilot Flying J, the national
truckstop chain, has reached a confidential settlement agreement with
two New Jersey trucking firms that had charged the Knoxville based firm
with racketeering stemming from rebate skimming allegations.
The settlements with National Retail Transportation and Keystone Freight were confirmed by attorneys for all parties.
The
settlement followed a ruling by a federal judge that the two New Jersey
firms could pursue racketeering and fraud charges against Pilot.
Lawyers for Pilot had sought to have the charges dismissed.
Leonard
Leicht, the New Jersey attorney representing the truckers, said the
agreement was reached last week. That was confirmed by Aubrey Harwell of
Nashville who represents Pilot. Leicht said he could not discuss the
details.
Four other trucking firms, including FST Express of Ohio,
are continuing their suits which have been merged before U.S. District
Judge Amul Thapar in Kentucky.
Last month Thapar ruled that the
two New Jersey firms could continue to pursue their claims that Pilot
engaged in racketeering and violated New Jersey and federal law by
secretly reducing promised rebates to truckers.
Thapar did throw out some of the truckers allegations against Pilot and its top executives and principal owner James A. Haslam.
The settlements are the latest development following an April 15, 2013 raid on Pilot's headquarters by FBI and IRS agents.
In
a subsequent court filing federal agents detailed a conspiracy by top
Pilot sales executives to secretly reduce rebates promised to truckers
who they thought would not notice. Subsequently 10 Pilot employees
entered guilty pleas to mail and wire fraud changes. They all await
sentencing.
Pilot subsequently settled a slew of civil suits for a
total of $85 million, but seven firms opted out of that settlement.
Pilot also agreed to pay the federal government $92 million to settle
civil charges related to the rebates.
wfrochejr999@gmail.com
