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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.