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MCALLEN, Texas (AP) - The owner of a tour company whose bus exploded and killed 23 nursing home residents as they fled Hurricane Rita pleaded not guilty Monday to conspiracy and safety violations.
Global Limo Inc. and its president and director, James H. Maples, are accused in a three-count federal indictment of conspiring to falsify driver time records and failing to inspect buses to ensure their safety.
Maples, 65, didn't comment as he left the courtroom. His attorney, Charles Banker III, has said the government was blaming Maples for "something that was really completely out of his control." Maples was arrested Wednesday and released on a $75,000 bond.
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