Thread: Jury deliberates in Rita bus explosion trial (Found Guilty)

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Jury deliberates in Rita bus explosion trial
By LYNN BREZOSKY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
10/03/2006
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McALLEN — A jury began deliberations Monday in the trial of a bus company and its owner, accused of mismanaging the fleet before an explosion last year that killed 23 elderly nursing home residents during the Hurricane Rita evacuation. Jurors were given a three-count federal indictment accusing James Maples and his company, Global Limo, Inc. of conspiracy to falsify driver time logs, failing to maintain the buses and failing to require drivers to fill out vehicle inspection reports after trips.

Maples and the company face no charges related to the 2005 blaze, which started in a wheel well and probably caused oxygen tanks in the bus to explode. Except for vague references by defense witnesses to “the accident” and “the papers,” jurors have heard nothing about the crash.

Prosecutors did not think they could charge Maples for accident-related violations alleged to have taken place while some federal regulations were lifted so more buses could be used for hurricane evacuations.

In closing arguments, prosecutors tried to show that driver time logs compared against one another and against itineraries given to bus drivers are written evidence of an agreement with Maples and his drivers that would prove a conspiracy.

He said the logs and itineraries showed Maples allowed his drivers to drive 30 or more hours without adequate rest.

Kinchen also recounted evidence of government safety audits in 2002 and 2004 that he said showed Maples had been cited repeatedly to keep daily post-trip inspection reports as required as well as evidence of roadside inspections listing dangerous safety problems with the buses.

“James Maples didn’t care about keeping these vehicle inspection reports. James Maples cared about keeping the wheels rolling,” Kinchen said.

He said driver Juan Robles — a former illegal immigrant who was the driver of the bus that exploded and was cleared of charges in return for cooperating with the prosecution — was the type of driver Maples used to forward the conspiracy.

“Someone who would drive 31 and a half hours and not complain because he couldn’t,” he said.

Defense attorney Charles Banker meanwhile attacked Robles, who he said was the government’s “star witness” because he was the only driver to testify that Maples told him to falsify logs.

Robles has been convicted of shoplifting, which Banker said should cast shadow on his character. He said that the fact that Robles has been given a Social Security card and work visa since the accident shows he has motivation to lie for the government’s case.

“Mr. Robles is lying to you, ladies and gentlemen,” Banker said. “He’s poking out your eyes because he has an interest in lying.”

The conspiracy charge is the most serious for the jury of eight women and four men to consider, carrying a sentence of up to five years in prison and up to a $750,000 fine if Maples and his company are convicted.

Prosecutors tried to show that Maples compelled drivers to log entries saying they were “off duty” for portions of trips when they were resting in a seat on the bus while another driver was at the wheel. Regulations state that the only way a driver can be off duty and remain on the bus is if he is in a sleeper berth.

None of the Global Limo buses have sleeper compartments, and two former drivers said itineraries they were given did not allow stops for eight hours of sleep.

Testimony has been conflicting as to whether Maples told drivers to falsify their hours. A government inspector said Maples told him he only looked at the logs for payroll purposes.

Robles said Maples told him to “always mark eight hours” off duty after Robles’ logs were cited. But driver Salvador Avalos said Maples told him to use the correct “on duty, not driving” designation when Avalos slept on a bus seat during Hurricane Katrina evacuations.

As for maintenance and daily inspections, two former Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration inspectors testified for the defense that violations noted on 2002 and 2004 safety audits were common and that Maples was still given a satisfactory rating, the agency’s highest. They said the $65,000 in repair invoices from that four-month period was evidence that Maples was aware of problems with his buses and was maintaining his fleet.

But they testified under cross-examination by prosecutors that Global buses sometimes went on the road despite dangerous problems and that while drivers may have told Maples of problems or noted them on other forms, there was no evidence post-trip inspections were consistently done.

Victims and relatives of victims in May reached an $11 million settlement with both Global and BusBank, the travel broker that hired it.

Maples, a former professional football player, has appeared mostly upbeat during the trial, sitting with his lawyer, family and friends in the spectator section.

http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/st ... st=b_ln_hl

Bus company, owner found guilty of violating safety laws
Dallas Business Journal - 12:05 PM CDT Wednesday

The owner of a bus company whose bus caught fire killing 23 nursing home residents who were fleeing Hurricane Rita to Dallas, was found guilty on maintenance and inspection charges, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.

However, James Maples, the owner of Global Limo Inc., was acquitted on the most serious count -- conspiring to lie on logbooks so drivers could work longer than allowed by federal law.

The bus company was convicted of failing to maintain its buses and follow inspection regulations, as well as conspiracy to lie on logbooks.

The charges were not related directly the bus fire, The AP said. The bus company was shut down two weeks after the Sept. 23, 2005, explosion. The bus was carrying passengers from an assisted living facility that were fleeing the hurricane and trying to make it to Dallas. A federal investigation into the fire determined the fire stared when a wheel bearing overheated causing a tire to catch fire, The AP said. Fourteen passengers were able to escape the bus, The AP said.

Maples, a former NFL player, could face a sentence of up to two years in prison and more than $1 million in fines, according to The AP. He will be sentenced Dec. 14.

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/n ... d9442.html

Bus owner to get two years at most

Split verdict ends case that began with deadly blaze on road to Dallas


12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, October 4, 2006

By MICHAEL GRABELL / The Dallas Morning News

McALLEN – The owner of a South Texas company whose bus burst into flames outside Dallas, killing 23 people during the Hurricane Rita evacuation, was acquitted Tuesday of the most serious charge against him in his criminal trial – meaning that the most prison time he could serve is two years.

Former NFL player Jim Maples was found guilty on two charges, failing to maintain his buses and not filling out required inspection reports. In addition to the possible prison time, Mr. Maples faces up to $200,000 in fines during sentencing, scheduled for Dec. 14. He was allowed to remain free on $75,000 bond.

Mr. Maples was not convicted of conspiring to falsify driver logbooks, required by regulators to ensure that drivers don't fall asleep at the wheel. That charge could have raised his possible maximum sentence to seven years in prison.

"We thought that was a victory – a victory to the good Lord," Mr. Maples, 67, said with a big smile.

His company, Global Limo, was found guilty on all three counts and could face $900,000 in fines.

Mr. Maples' wife, Kathleen, reading from handwritten note cards that Mr. Maples termed a "victory speech," said: "By the grace of the almighty God, we have prevailed. We fought this battle on our knees, and God's strength has been made perfect in our weakness."

Justice Department prosecutor John Kinchen also called the verdict a victory.

"If the family of the victims take any solace or in any way feel a little better about things because of this, then personally that makes me feel good," he said. "[These buses] were ticking time bombs, and during the time period at issue, James Maples lit the fuse each time he sent those buses out."


Fire not mentioned

Mr. Maples and his company were not charged with any crime related to the bus fire on Sept. 23, 2005. Prosecutors were not allowed to mention the blaze after the judge ruled that they failed to allege in their indictment that poor maintenance led to the accident. He said prosecutors wrongly thought that they couldn't because some regulations had been waived for the hurricane evacuation.

Federal accident investigators have said the bus fire started when poorly lubricated wheel bearings overheated, igniting a tire and spreading to oxygen canisters in the bus's cabin, where 37 nursing home patients, many unable to walk, were on their way to Dallas.

The fire was the deadliest incident tied to Hurricane Rita and one of the worst U.S. bus accidents in 50 years. In addition to the criminal trial, it spawned myriad lawsuits, a federal investigation into potential causes, a revamp of nursing home evacuation procedures and a congressional inquiry into how well the Transportation Department monitors bus companies.

The mostly middle-age and Hispanic jury of eight women and four men deliberated for about five hours. They left the courthouse without commenting.

In finding the company guilty of conspiracy, but not the owner, the jury implied that drivers falsified their work logs to mislead federal inspectors but that there wasn't enough evidence that Mr. Maples was involved.

Prosecutors had argued that Global drivers were instructed by Mr. Maples to say they were off duty resting when they were actually sitting in a passenger seat on the bus as another driver continued the trip. Under federal law, they were still on duty even though they weren't driving.

The drivers were supposed to stop to rest or be in a sleeper berth on the bus. None of Global's buses had sleeper berths. The lies allowed drivers to work for more than 30 hours straight, prosecutors said.

Mr. Kinchen said during closing arguments that Mr. Maples was effectively telling his drivers to break the law by providing schedules that were impossible to meet and still get the required eight hours of rest.

But the only driver who implicated Mr. Maples was Juan Robles Gutierrez, the driver of the bus that caught fire. Defense attorney Charles Banker branded him "a liar" who was trying to protect his status in the U.S.

"I think the problem with the government's case on the conspiracy was Robles being caught in some lies on the witness stand," Mr. Banker said.


Driver stays in U.S.

Mr. Robles, 38, a Mexican citizen who entered the country illegally, was ordered to stay in the Houston area as a material witness. In the past year, he has obtained a Social Security card, a work visa and Texas driver's license allowing him to drive buses again.

"There were no deals with any of them," Mr. Kinchen said of the drivers.

There was little reaction from Mr. Maples or his family as the jury read the verdict. Afterward, Mr. Maples sat down, folded his hands and kept the same stoic expression he has shown the jury through most of the case. But as the jury was dismissed, he turned to family and friends in the courtroom and winked.

"What they wanted to convey was the families of the victims in the bus accident have been in their mind since the day of the bus accident," his son-in-law, Bill Hollis, said later by phone. "They have been a part of them and always will."

Global and Mr. Robles – in addition to the travel broker who arranged the trip, the bus manufacturer and nursing home – still face a number of civil lawsuits, which are scheduled to go to trial sometime next year.

Global and two other parties have agreed to deposit the maximum coverage of their insurance policies, a total of $12 million, with the court to distribute to the victims. But the settlements have not been finalized.

"The civil cases are just starting to get geared up," said Robert Luke, an attorney representing the families of four victims who died and three who were injured. "They'll show that there were many mistakes made that led to this tragedy – from the designers and manufacturers of the bus all the way up to the nursing home, who was negligent in the way they loaded their wards on the bus."

The National Transportation Safety Board's final report on the accident and recommendations to improve bus safety are due out early next year.

U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, who represents the district where the accident occurred, said she planned to put bus and truck safety at the forefront of her legislative agenda next session.

"We need to tighten up our oversight of the conditions of these vehicles and make sure they meet the standards," she said. "I'm delighted that justice has been served. [But] I know it doesn't bring those lives back."

E-mail mgrabell@dallasnews.com