One of the two counts of witness intimidation in the indictment of NASCAR team owner Gene Haas has been dropped. The U.S attorney’s office asked for the dismissal of the charge because the five-year statute of limitations had expired. The charge stemmed from a May 10, 2001, conversation, and the indictment, while handed down by the grand jury in October 2005, was not filed until June 8, 2006. Haas, who owns the #66 Nextel Cup team of Jeff Green and the #00 Busch Series team of Johnny Sauter, still faces five counts of tax fraud and one count of witness intimidation. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which revolve around his Haas Automation business and not the race team. The company has blamed a former employee for the tax troubles.(SceneDaily.com)(7-13-2006)
