NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — When federal agents stormed the Knoxville headquarters of Pilot Flying J in April, it sent shockwaves through the business, sports and political worlds.
The investigation into a scheme to defraud customers at Pilot, which is owned by the family of Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, has been voted the state's No. 1 news story of 2013 by reporters and editors of The Associated Press, AP member newspapers and broadcast subscribers.
The next highest rated stories of the year were Gov. Haslam's decision to forgo Medicaid expansion while trying to negotiate a special deal for Tennessee; four Vanderbilt football players being charged with raping an unconscious student in a campus dormitory; and the death of country music superstar George Jones after a long illness.