Fired pilot hopes comedian punished for drugs in Vero Beach
December 12th, 2008 by TCPalm.comVERO BEACH — California comedian Ron White’s former pilot wants an Indian River County judge to sternly punish White on marijuana possession charges, according to a letter in court files.
Pilot Jeffrey Wolcott, of Georgia, wrote that if a county judge “just slaps Mr. White on the hand and lets him get away,” the ruling would not serve the citizens of Indian River County or White.
Earlier this year White fired Wolcott, an action Wolcott blamed on his complaining about White allegedly using marijuana aboard his private aircraft. Wolcott said it was he who tipped law enforcement that White might be carrying marijuana into Vero Beach.
Vero Beach Police arrested White on Sept. 10 after his private airplane landed at the Vero Beach Municipal Airport. He was charged with possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Under a proposed plea deal, the “Blue Collar” comedian would get six months probation, a $1,000 fine and 200 hours of community service on charges of possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. But White’s probation would end as soon as he pays the $1,000 fine and he could pay $2,000 instead of doing community service, according to the agreement.
County Judge Joe Wild is scheduled to sentence White Dec. 31. The comedian is not required to be present.
“Mr. White needs to be taught that he has to be held responsible for his lack of control,” Wolcott wrote in a lengthy letter to Wild.
Also two other letters from Georgia residents, including Wolcott’s wife, are in the court file, asking Wild to take stern action. She said her husband has piloted entertainers, dignitaries and presidents.
“I do not have an axe to grind with Mr. White,” the pilot wrote. “I only look forward to the date he gets the help he needs.”
By Elliott Jones, TCPalm.com
Tags: comedian, drugs, jeffrey wolcott, marijuana, pot, ron white
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December 12th, 2008 at 11:41 am
This pilot is mad because he was fired. Leave Ron alone. There are worse offenses out there than some pot.
December 12th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Get over it, Wolcott. If you’re such a fine, upstanding citizen with such high morals, why didn’t you refuse to pilot the plane since you purportedly knew of Mr. White’s use of marijuana while on board?? You chose to report him to the authorities instead - hoping to remain anonymous, no doubt. You got caught and you got fired. Let the Judge decide Mr. White’s punishment - and in the meantime, learn to live with the consequences of what you chose to do.
December 12th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
LOL now the pilot complains.
I say, test him for marijuana. First he has piloted White for a long time. This trip was not the first time that White endulged in his favorite activity during flight! And now he is calling in the feds, ratting out his client? Pathetic. Don’t worry about your client that fired you, worry about keeping your other clients satisified.
December 12th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I bet Wolcott won’t be piloting too many more celebrities now that they know he can’t mind his own business. What a self-righteous twit.
December 12th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
how pathetic indeed,you caused harm toanother person over the use of pot.You have probably piloted your last private fare.go fly commuter [prop] planes its where you belong.YOU are a complete idiot.
December 12th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
If the FAA had done a spot check [or been called because someone had smelled the smoke on him] the pilot wouldn’t be allowed to fly anyone, much less celebrities.
Marijuana smoke in the enclosed cockpit area could have entered the pilot’s blood and lungs, impairing the pilot, contaminating him. The FAA would take the pilot’s license if they detected the smoke on him or in his blood system. It is a zero tolerance system. Who in their right minds would tolerate a pilot who evidenced recent exposure to pot?
You people are very ignorant. It’s not a matter of letting a drug addled celebrity do his own thing … it’s a serious matter, not ha ha funny and the pilot had no choice under the law but to report what happened.
December 12th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Just dumb.
The pilot should have told the guy to put the pot out, if he didn’t he could of told him that he no longer wants to fly for the guy.
You dont need to make a big scene and act like this comedian is some sort of crack addict abusing his children.
December 12th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
What is it about “Private” that this guy does not understand? This is a Private Pilot? He must be something awful special if he thinks this will not be the worst thing for his career. Weed is widely accepted by humans whether they use it or not. Snitches on the other hand hold the lowest rung of society. Does this guy think he saved vero beach from a comedian hopped up on weed? There is no excuse for this act! Karma will get him for sure! If the bloggers don’t drive him crazy first.
December 12th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Soooo you articulate that to the client and be done with it. Our last three presidents admitted use of marijuana at some point in their lives, yet they were elected anyway. Flying a jet is about as tough as driving a cab….Just last week a pilot went BLIND during a flight and was able to land safely. Terrorists learn to fly big jets on the simulator that anybody can download. Don’t try to justify this subhuman act with the FAA spotcheck and second hand smoke argument. The guy is a snitch with an ax to grind pure and simple!
December 12th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Snitches get stitches… Someone should tell this pilot and busy body to mind his business. He should have asked Mr. White to travel with out his pot.. what a waste of police time.. and for under 20 grams.. what a tool!!!
December 12th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
good for him. the world needs more snitches.
December 12th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Darn! Looks like they caught the Tater (again).
Love ya Ron!!!
December 13th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
thank god the cops were on that one, otherwise we could have a full meltdown of our financial system, we could have a government that blatantly breaks the rules of the constitution, we could have our first depression in 80 years,
but they had the money to take down this guy who had enough pot to smoke on his vacation, please fill up our jails, and congest our court systems for this horrible criminal,
the pilot will now see how the free market works.
December 13th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
I have no problem with people smoking the herb. But, smoking the herb in an enclosed airplane cabin is a terrible idea because it can effect the pilot and cause him to crash the plane into the ground or maybe even the ocean (depending on where the plane is flying).
December 13th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
The pilot should have refused to fly if he had an issue with it and should have been fired for either (i) not refusing or (ii) violating the confidentiality of his employer. No matter how you see the actions of the passenger, there is no excuse for the pilot’s behavior. He’s clearly too stupid to fly a plane if he didn’t think he would be fired for turning in his boss.
What kind of punishment does this pilot think is appropriate anyway? We need to stop wasting tax payer dollars on this stupid stuff while our entire economy continues to collapse.
December 13th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
You people are morons. The pilot is responsible for the aircraft. He is not a snitch. If he told White to put out the pot, and White didn’t, then White’s a jerk (not a surprise there) and the pilot did the right thing. We tell our children “say not to drugs” then somehow justify an entertainer’s use of drugs. And to the poster who says it’s easy to fly a plane, try again buddy. It’s not easy and it certainly isn’t easy stoned. I have friends who fly commercial aircraft. It’s not like drunk boating.
White screwed up. He pissed off the pilot. The pilot turned him in. The pilot had to know that this was his last official act as White’s pilot. White had to know that what he was doing was wrong. Now they both will deal with the consequences of their decisions. But to berate the pilot as a “snitch” while our government offers multi-million dollar rewards for Osama Bin Laden (high dollar snitching, folks) is ridiculous.
December 13th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
When will the government understand and accept, as society in general has, that pot is a basically harmless natural recreational drug? Ron White smoking a joint is no danger to anyone. We read about commercial pilots with high blood alcohol content getting into planes with hundreds of passengers too often. Way too much time and money is spent persecuting and prosecuting recreational pot smokers. Do they commit violent crime? Do they rob to get their next “fix”? The most violent act a potsmoker ever committed was on a bag of Doritos.
December 13th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
You peoeple who are patting the pilot on the back forget one thing, it was White’s plane that the pilot was hired to fly. He was basically a chauffer for White. The pilot was all kinds of wrong. There are confidentiality papers they sign most of the time. He has announced to the world that he cannot be trusted to fly you. A private pilot has to be trusted to keep what he sees and hears to himself. It would be one thing if White was doing some hard core drugs, and the pilot was a friend and did it to get White help. That was not the case here.
December 13th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Legalize it! The pilot is a douchebag!
December 13th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
There is so much more to this than you people realize; I am a corporate pilot myself and I know who this pilot is. I also know that he had tried on a number of occasions to address his concerns about getting busted himself and losing his license. Even when White did not smoke on the plane, he was stashing large quantities on board. Wolcott did refuse to fly the airplane again, but White’s manager, Drew Edwards assured Wolcott there would not be any pot on the plane. Unfortunately, Edwards failed to inform White of the situation, consequently White got pissed off when his plane was not where it was supposed to be when it was supposed to be. A very belligerent and drunk White then jeopardized the return trip by dangerously distracting the pilots when he burst into the cockpit. After that he fired the pilots for ‘insubordination’. Let’s see, you get fired because you refuse to fly drugs. I say Wolcott is glad to out of that situation and is doing just fine. So, get your heads out of the ’smoke’ and realize why this man may have a problem. We pilots have strict rules and regulations we must abide by, primary because of safety; wonder how his new pilots are faring.
December 13th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Well, hubby and I went to see the comedian Ron White in Houston Nov. 23rd. Let’s just say we won’t be doing that again. Now, I did expect some vulgar and inappropriate stuff, but he just way over did it. He drank from a bottle of whiskey the whole time and the more he drank the more disgusting he got. About half way through the show, a girl fell from the balcony. Yes from the balcony onto the concrete floor. It was crazy!!! The medics came and took her away- I have no idea how hurt she was or even if she was alive. Ron White was so put out about this women falling. Like she did it on purpose just to interrupt him. He was like, “why does this have to happen at my shoe, ” and “who the hell falls from the f****** balcony?” He was so insensitive. He wasn’t even concerned if she was okay. What a dissappoint- I’m sorry but this Ron White guy seems like a total Jackass!!!
December 14th, 2008 at 1:02 am
Let me start off with that I have known Mr. Wolcott for almost 23 Years as we are considerd corporate professional pilots during that time. Mr. Wolcott is a very well commended Professional in his field. Yes, I am the Co-Captain on Mr Whites private jet. I was on bourd the flight out of New York to witness the allegations of the drug use on that and many other flights.I was also the the co-captain at the the controls when the controls were relinquished to me as Mr Wolcott had to physically place him back in the cabin.
Bottom line, We are tired of hearing about us being beat up over what “HE HAS DONE”. He Broke the law!!!!Many times!!
This man has no regard for his personel, himself or anyone around him. And I mean to include his “fans”
I am sick and tired of reading these blogs.
You “Pot smoking” “Trailer park white trash” need to get a life!!!!!
December 14th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Hey “upyours”…I think you may need a little more fiber in your diet. I have been called some choice things by a wide variety of people in my life, but you have taken the cake.
If you are who you say you are, then you will wake up from what was obviously a drunken blur and realize that you are in violation of your employment contract for divulging sensitive information, and making racist remarks. No apology needed here! I understand that so many pilots are functioning alchoholics that are binge drunks like you. You can’t fool anyone……time of post….information divulged….unexcusable racist remarks. Shamefull even if you aren’t the professional you claim to be. Enjoy your day!
December 14th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Ron White, albiet funny at times, has the right to hire any pilot he wants that will fly his plane. Florida ia a right to work state, meaning that he doesn’t need a reason to fire anyone.
I applaud the pilot and co-pilot for their decisions.
December 14th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Perhaps the pilot is just pissed that HE can’t smoke pot on the job?…hmmmm?
December 14th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Thank god the pilot is assisting law enforcement and our government. Our poor president never was prepared for the war, and couldn’t find those darn WMD’s so we need a good pilot to do the right thing!
What an ass. Don’t take the job anymore and have the guy’s family assist him with his “problem.” The creep was angry with White and in his own vindictive way dimed out White. Where I come from, this pilot would be in a wheelchair for a couple months with 2 broken legs if he did this.
December 14th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Hey Tom, After about six shots tequila this morning and a sixpack I got to thinking, your right! So I am retracting “White” out of my statement.
December 14th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
To all of you snitches,
There are places/countries in this world that use “snitches” to find out and verify who simply does not agree with it’s regimes policies, to hunt them down like animals and throw them “non-agreeing folks” in jail or worse. You see, morons, these are communist or dictatorial governmental regimes. Maybe, you should all move to those locations and allow us in America what little freedoms we have left.
December 14th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
I say arrest the pilot for transporting drugs across state lines.
December 14th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
This pilot is a waste of space. I hope this guy gets what he deserves for being a jerk. What a joke.
December 14th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Hey Bashido,
Let’s get this straight, what are your qaulifications to make or place judgment on us as the pilots of Mr. Whites’ Aircraft. ??? You do not know the full story.
Back off, the FAA.FBI,NTSB are on this case .
You are about to make a complete fool out of yourself.
December 14th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
This is why I’m glad I’m in the front, FLYING the plane, rather than crammed in the back with the cattle. Not a single one of you whom have tossed the Pilot under the landing gear have the experience, the knowledge, or the rite to judge him. PIC. Pilot In Command.
He get’s the final call.
End of discussion.
December 14th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
I can read…I guess that is a start.
This pilot got fired and then to get back at Mr. White he snitched on him. Why didnt he refuse to pilot Mr. White from the start? Why didnt he turn him in earlier?? Sounds like this pilot is out of a job and had to figure a quick way to get back. Ron, will get a slap on the wrist (its just pot) and move on with his career.
The pilot’s life will not. I’m sure his reputation will follow him for years and he will miss out on job after job.
Serves the jerk rights. I HOPE HE GETS WHAT HE DESERVES! PIG
December 15th, 2008 at 2:02 am
Bashido you are an idiot. Sounds like a name for Pizza. Did any of you pot smokers read the the blast from Donald and one gus says. I think they said it all. Mr. Up yours - You are so right. They are trailer trash! Philly - That is why they cal it filthadelphi. Tom - Go get your teeth fixed. Never have I seen so many dumb A*(*
December 15th, 2008 at 10:56 am
What a turd, rat out your boss for that? Bet this loser spends the rest of his life ferrying golfers to Myrtle Beach since now NO celeb can EVER trust him to be their pilot. This is the kind of guy who would take a memory cards out of a employer’s camera and sell it for cash…hopefully his plane will one day be found spiked into a mountain (with only him inside, of course).
December 15th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Hey, Bob Havannaugh,
I agree with “Two fingers up yours” In my opinion you are the TURD, RAT and the UTMOST LOSER. You do not have a clue as to what this job entails. I get the impression you have stolen camara memory cards and sold them for cash. Let me tell you, we have a code of ethics when we fly as Professional Pilots for dignitaries, celebrities and other prominant clients. Bottom line, when whomever it may be puts my career om the line….thats it!!!!! You must drive a Cab?
December 16th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Got a life yet? you do need one !