High-level executives depart company as FBI continues to dig into the Browns owner's business. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) With a year-long federal fraud investigation looming over it, the huge truck-stop chain owned by the family of the Cleveland Browns owner and Tennessee's governor is doing some housecleaning at its highest levels. Several top executives at Pilot Flying J, including the president, abruptly left this week, more than a year after FBI agents raided the Knoxville, Tennessee, headquarters of the nation's largest diesel retailer. Ten former employees have previously pleaded guilty to helping cheat trucking companies out of promised rebates and discounts. Those cases and this week's departures, observers note, could indicate that prosecutors are entering the final phase of a methodical probe that has included records suggesting Pilot CEO and Browns owner Jimmy Haslam knew of the scheme, something he denies. One expert said Haslam might be cutting ties with his senior staff in a bid to persuade prosecutors not to charge the company his father founded decades ago, one in which his brother, Gov. Bill Haslam, still holds an undisclosed stake. Pilot President Mark Hazelwood and Scott "Scooter" Wombold, vice president of national accounts, left the company Monday, with Haslam sending a company-wide email thanking Hazelwood for his service but saying nothing about why or how he was leaving. Tuesday saw the departure of five more members of the sales team. Dennis B. Francis, a Knoxville attorney who has worked in federal criminal defense for 40 years, said the only way this week's departures make sense to him is if some of the people leaving are cooperating with prosecutors. For a defendant to get a lighter sentence than federal guidelines mandate, prosecutors have to file court papers saying that person provided substantial assistance to the government. Once prosecutors have the evidence they need to convict, they no longer offer any promises of special consideration. "They call it 'getting on the bus,'" said Francis, who is not involved in the Pilot case. "And there's only so much room on the bus." Wombold's attorney, John E. Kelly, said in an email that his client had been "helping the company repair many customer relationships during the past 14 months. Mr. Wombold's departure from the company is not connected to past guilty pleas entered into by former employees, and any inference that there is a connection is not accurate." Hazelwood's attorney declined to comment. Company representatives said they couldn't comment on specific personnel moves, which took place while Jimmy Haslam was meeting with fellow NFL owners in Atlanta. "Nothing more should be read into the events of this week than things playing themselves out," spokesman Tom Ingram said Wednesday. "Otherwise, the company continues to go full steam ahead and business as usual, and is doing very well." Jimmy Haslam has denied any previous knowledge of the fraud or any personal wrongdoing. The governor has said he is not involved with operating Pilot Flying J. Pilot agreed in November to pay out nearly $85 million to settle claims in a class-action lawsuit with 5,500 trucking companies. Several companies have filed separate lawsuits against Pilot that are ongoing. Nashville criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor David Raybin said that, based on his observations and experience, the departure of so many managers at once indicates that criminal charges could soon be filed. And he suggested that prosecutors are aiming high. "You don't make a bunch of people plead guilty at the lower levels and then let the top people off with a fine," said Raybin, who does not represent anyone in the case. "They're potentially jailing five to 10 people. You don't do that unless you are targeting the highest levels of the company." An affidavit filed last year to obtain a search warrant for Pilot headquarters states that a confidential informant told the FBI that both Hazelwood and Jimmy Haslam knew about the fraud at the company because it was discussed openly at sales meetings where both were present. Randall Eliason, a former federal prosecutor who teaches at George Washington University Law School, said that while the sudden departures are unusual, they could mean any number of things. For example, Pilot might be fearful that the company could be charged criminally, or the company's board of directors may have decided that the people who have left recently were partly responsible for what happened. "One reason the company might fire them is to say, 'Look, we're cleaning house. We're getting rid of the bad people, so don't indict the corporation,'" Eliason said.
Stopper, how do you know if he does good or not? Coaches talking and what the media is allowed to show. Cleveland media. How do you know if coaches praise him or not in practice. But to the media they will say that he sucks. He's behind. Which most rookies will be at the QB position. This is the NFL. Not Pop Warner, flag, high school or college. Everyone with a TV knows what Manziel brought to college football. Along with that he brought cockiness, partying, arrogance and WINNING! What your hearing is called attitude checking. 1 of the 2 questions everyone and their grandmother had about him. Not ability. The Browns need both. Attitude and QB ability. The Browns have had neither. Yes Hoyer won 2 games. But Luck, Manning, Rodgers and Wilson he is not. But form what he did to the nations best college conference he may be. Just enjoy man. P.S. It's bad when I have to tell someone be positive.LOL
YO Lounge Houndz... *HI* Spoiler *DRINK* I Like the way the Browns are keeping Manzielmania under wraps as best they can. I've a feeling that Shanahan has had a fair amount of input into how to handle the situation and start developing the young man into an NFL QB. In looking at the WR Corp assembled. It appears that Speed is more valued than size. While not many over the 6-0 mark, several of them do have 4.4 or faster speed. It looks as if Shanahans hybrid pistol/WCO/read option is going to focus on quick timing routes and letting the WR do his thing in space. While I'm not quite ready to say just how well the ground game will do. I do think it may surprise a few people. It's a new year Browns fans. WOOF! WOOF!
Ur right this is the NFL....so ur gonna come out and tell the media he is looks awful, behind etc but when he plays then what....they r leaving themselves open for more ridicule than if they just told the truth...btw, u keep bringing up college...we all know what he did in college...u drafted the kid cause of what he did in college....winning, arrogance, partying and cockiness so deal w it.
Just two months after he signed with the Broncos, safety T.J. Ward has been involved in an incident that has him wanted by Denver police. CBS 4 in Denver reports that an arrest warrant was issued for Ward on Thursday in connection with an incident that took place on May 9. According to the police, that incident involved a scuffle at a nightclub that is being categorized as both an assault and disturbing the peace. The Broncos signed Ward to a four-year, $22.5 million contract in March. His signing was one of the key moves the Broncos made in an aggressive approach to free agency this year. Ward previously played four seasons for the Browns. Last year he started all 16 games and was chosen to his first Pro Bowl.
Stopper When he plays games everyone will see how he does. The coaches and GM wont be able to protect him at that point but they can control that now. That's what they are doing. You never coddle your your prize bull, man. They are trying to keep him grounded. But everything that has come out so far has been great. You have to treat him like every other rookie. To put on the dog and pony show, you ridicule him more. See how he responds. His attitude was the big question mark. The Browns future is in this man's hands. Will he be Graham, Kosar and Sipe or Weeden, Anderson and Holcomb? Time will tell. But right now the Browns are handling it picture perfect. Let him learn to go with his natural ability.
Stopper It reads like you have the problem dealing with it. Manziel is here for you, man. So get a beer every Sunday and enjoy if he play's. maybe they will win. Are you on here trying to be ignorant/ or is it just your nature? The Browns pay none of us I think. You have a right to your opinion, its America. Just enjoy the moment. Or are you related to Hoyer? lol
I agree he's a stiff. But he is a stiff that helped win 3 games. That is usually about 80% of what the Browns win a year. Which is why Johnny Football is here. FUTURE! Hoyer is 28 years old. A career backup. Not much future there. Enter Manziel. It will be fine. You'll see. Onto another note. I was listening to the Rizzo show this morning and they said Gordon didnt fail a drug test, he just didnt go. What that means I dont know but at least it wasn't a failed 3rd test. From what they said that might mean he will miss 4-6 games depending on if he passed the test when he took it. So stay tuned fellas.
Here we go again...he helped win 3 games......wow I didnt know leaving a game down 10-0 helped them win that game. The future is now and hes here so why wait.
Quit tryin to take away the credit Hoyer gets for the Buffalo win. lol! We played inspired football that night...Psychologically, Brian Hoyer infiltrated the minds of his fellow teammates, and willed us to that victory, even as he layed there with his mangled knee ligaments. ..Unfortunately it was unsustainable, as once the team became aware that the rest of the season was on the shoulders of Brandon Weeden and Jason Campbell, all hope was lost...
Hoyer / Manziel What have either of them done for us? Well Hoyer made me believe last year's Browns team was only an on field leader away from being a contending team, and that contrary to popular belief actually had enough talent on the roster to do so. Thank you Brian. Manziel has made Cleveland Browns a story nationally, sold tickets and jerseys, making us a stronger team at least financially if not on the field. Thank you Johnny. Beyond that it us speculation, and man isn't that fun? Personally I would like to see ________ win and make us a playoff team now. Yeah, either one getting us there works for me, but there are forces at work that at least to me favor the Manziel era starting within 5 weeks of the season's start. I think coaches are generally conservative, and as such I am not surprised or concerned about the scuttlebutt about Johnny being the backup. They have the gunslinger, but they also have the careful and more reliable veteran who is not likely to give away a game, even though he may be equally unlikely to win it with 'wow like" play. With the first 3 weeks looking very tough, I expect to see Hoyer out there. One would expect the expected Browns team to win possibly 1 of the 3, or go winless. So that sets up Hoyer to fail, or do what he did last year and outperform expectations and post a couple wins. If expectations are met, then Johnny Football gets his oppty as the Bye week allows a little time to transition. If Hoyer surprises and wins, well then the man has staked his claim, and truly becomes the incumbent QB, and gets replaced only with and injury or repeated poor performances. I expect that like 21 teams last year, we will need our #2 to play at some point, and if Johnny doesn't meet the level of play Hoyer provided, then the debate gets ugly. A lot on money and a lot of visions of glory are riding on the diminutive gunslinger, and who doesn't want to see him play, but if Hoyer does well the pressure on Johnny grows exponentially. The other side if the coin IMO is Hoyer knows how to be a backup, accept the role, and support his rival with grace and be ready to take the reins. By that measure, Hoyer might be disappointed but a professional, and will remain an asset. Will Johnny? That argues for making Johnny the starter, maybe with a short leash, knowing Hoyer can and will step in and be effective, while still understanding he is second fiddle to the "chosen one". Which battle does the Coaching staff want to defend: the future is now, or we want to win each week? I am a "now" guy, and that's what I want to drive the decision. Winning solves all problems, and the cream will rise. Let it.
Exactly, man. As a Browns fan I want wins. I don't care if it's Johnny Football, Hoyer or Thigpen for that matter. Hoyer is a great story. Hometown kid comes back and leads the team to victory. But he is as good as he will be. Give or take that ACL. He did contribute to that win. Kept them in the game. Also, above is right. The air was let out of the Browns whole season when Hoyer went down. So this year they got the best QB coming out in the draft for that reason. That will add excitement to a beat down fan base. People want Johnny to start, already! I'm all for him sitting and learning. Knowledge is his weakness of the NFL game. The young man was DOMINATE, Ill say again DOMINATE at the last level. Fans know that, coaches know that and all of America knows that. I'll agree that I didn't want Manziel at #4 or any other QB. I wanted Watkins to go with Gordon and get a QB at #26. But Gordon is looking at a ban and we drafted Gilbert (love that pick) and Johnny ( love that pick at 26 ) I'm a very happy Browns fan right now. As negative as I am about the Browns they got this ol fan excited again. If Gordon isn't suspended or is only suspended 2-6 games we will have a very good offense. With or without Johnny. So in the name of Johnny Football for the 1st time since I was 19 years old, almost 20 years ago............... HERE WE GO BROWNIES, HERE WE GO WOOF, WOOF!!!! That was also for you Irish,lol
Now I read that Bill Polian and Alex Marvez interviewed Greg Little and Little said Gordon failed because of not showing up for a drug test which is mandatory. It also happened to Richard Sherman. Sherman appealed it and WON! Again stay tuned Brownie fans.
The Morning Kickoff ? Its time has come: The next great innovation in the NFL? How about a developmental football league? A league for undrafted rookies to fall back on after final NFL roster cuts and to keep in football shape, physically and mentally. A league to develop out-of-work coaches and young referees. A league to experiment with rules changes and technological advancements. This is one of those ideas that is so obvious that you wonder why it hasn?t been done. Money, is the answer. NFL owners, awash in billions of dollars of revenue, don?t want to finance a developmental league because it generates cost, not revenue. That?s what did in the NFL Europe League. Operating for nine years under different names, the European league was disbanded in 2007 because owners tired of paying the bills. The benefits of the league were lauded by football operations executives. But they couldn?t convince the owners to keep investing in it. An NFL developmental league needed a new business model. Brian Woods, a sports attorney, believes he has created it. Coming this fall: Woods, 40, is the founder and creator of the FXFL ? the Fall Experimental Football League. So far, there is no affiliation with or cooperation from the NFL. But Woods predicts that will change when the NFL sees the FXFL operate this fall. ?There?s no mystery there needs to be a developmental league,? Woods said. ?I think the challenging part is coming up with a business model and design it properly. I?ve spent a lot of time researching this. I?ve looked closely at the NBA Developmental League and at Minor League Baseball. We?ve come a long way in a very short period of time. We?re financially backed and ready to launch this fall.? Based in New York, Woods said the FXFL will debut in September with teams in six markets ? New York, Orlando, Omaha, Portland, Boston and Memphis or San Antonio. The league itself will own and operate two of the teams, but Woods said the others have financial backing from some ?high-profile investors.? Franchise fees were set at $500,000. Team names and owners will be announced within two weeks, Woods said. ?A lot of people are questioning our ability to launch in a short timeframe. Some of our partners are going to be minor league baseball teams. They have an infra-structure in place, good marketing teams, built-in customer base. We?re able to mobilize much quicker than most people think,? Woods said. ?The league is not predicated on TV revenue. But I will tell you I am in very good discussions with some major networks about televising the season. If the NFL were involved, it would be slam dunk. We?re going to have a TV partner wrapped up within two weeks.? Woods said the FXFL will have six teams playing a six-game schedule from September to November. Games will be Wednesday nights. Woods believes NFL Europe, while well-intentioned, failed for obvious reasons. ?That was not very cost-effective,? he said. ?They played in big venues, and shipped the players out (overseas). I think the best structure is a developmental league that plays in the fall, not in the spring. This again is the benefit ? play on weeknights, use a cost-containment model, play in minor league baseball venues.? The future: In April, sports lawyer and agent Donald Yee speculated in an essay in the Washington Post about college football in the Year 2020 morphing into a lucrative professional developmental league in which college-age players share in the billions of dollars of revenue generated by their games. Woods? league would be a scaled-down version of those post-collegiate players, mostly undrafted but also drafted ones, who work the six weeks of NFL training camp and then are released. Hundreds of these players routinely retreat to their homes ? some take on jobs ? and wait for their phones to ring when NFL teams need reinforcements later in the year. Or they resurface the following year and try it all over again. Woods said, ?Forty percent of the (college) juniors that declared for the NFL draft this year were undrafted. Because of the new rookie contract structure and the college landscape changing, now more than ever there?s a need for a developmental league.? Because of injury attrition, most NFL teams come looking for players in the second half of the NFL season. That?s why Woods wants the FXFL season to start in September and end in November ? to feed the NFL need for players late in its season. The theory is that players discarded after training camp will be more developed playing in the FXFL than they would be merely working out on their own. Woods said FXFL teams will have rosters of 40 players and coaching staffs will consist of a head coach and six assistants. Players would receive between $1,000 and $1,250 a game, which is more than the Arena Football League rate of about $850. The league would develop players, coaches and officials and also experiment with innovations the NFL has discussed. For instance, Woods said the league would not use the traditional point-after touchdown and is considering eliminating the punt altogether, for safety and competitive reasons. ?I personally feel if you take the punt away you?d have sustained drives and promote scoring,? Woods said. ?And it would make the game safer. The majority of injuries occur on punts and kickoffs. So we are looking to experiment.? Woods said the league would have ?a technological component? that would make the game quicker and also engage fans interactively. He wouldn?t elaborate. Because of the business model and the benefits to the NFL, Woods feels the FXFL will succeed. He envisions ticket prices at $30 and hopes for attendance in the 5,000 to 6,000 range. ?Our long-term goal, obviously, is to have an official recognition from the NFL,? Woods said. ?I think everyone sees a need for this.?
I read that also . I hope he beats it . IMHO he should get nothing out of it . all he did was smoke a little harmless weed *SHADES*
Couldn't stress this point any more. Everyone so quick to bad mouth him before we even know what happened. Hopefully we get some good news soon
