The CEO of the notorious and now-defunct Arrow Trucking, recently made a holiday plea to a judge — asking to be released from prison early in order to reunite “with his family and begin piecing [his] life back together.”
Back in 2015, James Douglas “Doug” Pielsticker was sentenced to a 90-month prison term, after pleading guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion charges.
Although he’s behind bars for corporate fraud, he’s known for pulling off one of the most heinous shutdowns in trucking history. Just days before Christmas 2009, a Pielsticker-led Arrow Trucking abruptly shut its doors and stopped answering calls, leaving hundreds of truckers and employees stranded throughout the country without warning.
With their fuel cards shut down and paychecks undelivered, many drivers were unable to make it to their families for the holidays and were forced to leave their vehicles and search for ways to get back home.
Now, with just a quarter of his 90-month sentence served, Pielsticker is pleading to be let our of prison early, according to a report from Tulsa World.
“A reduction in his sentence, whether significant or slight under the guidelines, would be of significant importance to Mr. Pielsticker. The sooner he can reunite with his family and begin piecing their life back together, the better,” a motion filed by his lawyers states.
It doesn’t appear that his appeal will be granted, as Federal prosecutors are opposing the request and have denied similar requests from Pielsticker in the past.
Before Arrow Trucking abruptly shut its doors in 2009, the company began bouncing checks to lenders and employees, but continued to pay Pielsticker his $1.2 million salary. He also used millions of dollars of company money to pay for lavish luxuries such as his Bentley and Porsche, mortgage payments for his mansion, private jet trips, and other personal expenses.
Despite his pleas for an early release, it appears that Pielsticker will remain behind bars and experience a similar fate that many of his drivers did during the unexpected shutdown — trapped, with no way to get home for the holidays.
