Conspired To Give Preferential Treatment To At Least 17 CDL Applicants
Two current and two former Mass. State Police troopers conspired to fake commercial driver’s license test results to give passing scores to applicants who either failed or never took the required skills test in exchange for bribes that included a snowblower and cases of bottled water, federal prosecutors alleged Tuesday.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy charged six people total in a 74-count indictment alleging three counts of conspiracy to falsify records, three counts of conspiracy to commit extortion, three counts of extortion, six counts of honest services mail fraud, 31 counts of falsification of records, 27 counts of false statements and one count of perjury. Among those indicted were Gary Cederquist, 58, of Stoughton; Calvin Butner, 63, of Halifax; Perry Mendes, 63, of Wareham; and Joel Rogers, 54, of Bridgewater.
Prosecutors said Cederquist, a State Police sergeant, was in charge of the department’s CDL Unit. Rogers was a trooper working on that unit, and Butner and Mendes are retired troopers who previously worked on the unit, Levy’s office said.
The MSP said Wednesday afternoon that Cederquist and Rogers have been suspended without pay indefinitely and outlined how the department worked with federal prosecutors and recent changes to the CDL Unit.
“Between in on or about May 2019 and January 2023, Cederquist, Butner, Mendes, Rogers and others conspired to give preferential treatment to at least 17 CDL applicants by agreeing to give passing scores on their skills tests whether or not they actually passed, using the code word ‘golden’ to identify these applicants who received special treatment,” federal prosecutors said. Cederquist is also alleged to have conspired with two friends also indicted Tuesday — Scott Camara, 42, of Rehoboth; and Eric Mathison, 47, of Boston — to ensure that applicants associated with their respective private companies got passing scores.
The CDL skills test pass rate in Massachusetts was 48 percent in 2019, 44 percent in 2020, 41 percent in 2021 and 41 percent in 2022, Levy’s office said. Scores reported by MSP’s CDL Unit are “material to whether applicants meet federal requirements for, and therefore whether the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) is permitted to issue said applicants, CDLs,” prosecutors said.
They added that CDL recipients identified as not qualified have been reported to the RMV.
State Police Association of Massachusetts President Brian Williams said his group was “disappointed” to learn of the indictments.
“The public’s confidence in law enforcement is critical to achieving our goals of public safety and security. As the newly elected President of the Association, I take these allegations seriously and urge everyone to wait until a thorough examination of the facts is public in order to ensure that the case is adjudicated in a fair and impartial manner,” Williams said.
