Pilot Flying J Dismisses Two High-Ranking Execs
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The fallout from the 2013 federal raid on Pilot Flying J's local headquarters continues to be felt among the employee ranks. Last week, the truck stop operator fired John Freeman, vice president of sales, and Vince Greco, former director of sales for the western region.
Pilot Flying J has been at the center of a fuel rebate controversy for more than a year. According to The Plain Dealer, Freeman figured prominently in secretly recorded meetings where the alleged fraud was discussed. Greco is believed to have been the employee wearing a wire who recorded conversations at sales meetings at Pilot Flying J's headquarters in Knoxville, and at Freeman's lake house near Rockwood, Tenn.
The news outlet could not reach attorneys for Pilot Flying J, CEO Jimmy Haslam or Freeman.
Defense attorneys refer to Greco as "Deuce" because they think he is "confidential human source-2" in the 120-page affidavit the FBI used as the basis for its April 15, 2013, raid on the company's offices. Greco was supervised by Freeman and worked in Bedford, Texas, according to the affidavit.
Freeman and Greco are just the latest employees to either leave or get fired from Pilot Flying J in recent weeks. Most notably, President Mark Hazelwood abruptly left the company on May 19; it is unknown if he resigned or was fired.
In addition, Kevin Hanscomb, Joe Sigurdson, Ron Carter and Scott Wombold left the company. Hanscomb was sales director, and Carter and Sigurdson worked remotely for the company and live in Canada.
Wombold was vice president of national accounts. His attorney, John Kelly, issued a statement saying that his client's departure after 22 years was not connected "to past guilty pleas entered into by former employees," as CSNews Online previously reported.
Two other employees, account representatives Karen Mann and Heather Jones, were placed on administrative leave.
Pilot Flying J is a family-owned business that operates more than 650 retail locations and is the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North America.