Defendant gave false passing scores on CDL road skills tests to 40 commercial driver’s license applicants
A federal jury in Boston has convicted a former Massachusetts State Police sergeant of multiple federal offenses tied to a years-long scheme that compromised the integrity of Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) testing in the Commonwealth, by allowing unqualified applicants—some of whom never took a test—to obtain commercial licenses used to operate large trucks and buses.
Gary Cederquist, 59, of Stoughton, who once led the State Police’s CDL Unit, was found guilty of 48 counts, including conspiracy to commit extortion, honest services mail fraud, falsification of records, and making false statements. He was acquitted on nine additional counts. Sentencing is scheduled for July 24, 2025, before U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani.
“Today’s verdict confirms that Gary Cederquist abused his authority as a Massachusetts State Trooper to recklessly bypass long-established testing and safety parameters for commercial driver’s license applicants. He did so only to enrich himself, while turning a blind eye to the potential public safety implications of ill-prepared and unqualified commercial truck drivers navigating our streets and our highways,” said Homeland Security Investigations New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol. “Public servants are held to a higher standard and Cederquist not only let the citizens of the Commonwealth down but also disgraced the thousands of state troopers who so proudly and honorably wear the Massachusetts State Police uniform.”
The jury’s decision follows a 74-count indictment issued in January 2024 charging Cederquist and five co-defendants, including three other former troopers and two civilians. The co-defendants— Former Trooper Calvin Butner of Halifax, Former Trooper Perry Mendes of Wareham, Former Trooper Joel Rodgers of Bridgewater, Scott Camara of Rehoboth, and Eric Mathison of Boston—have all pleaded guilty, except for Former Trooper Rodgers, and await sentencing.
Preferential Treatment in Exchange for Bribes
Prosecutors presented evidence that between February 2019 and January 2023, Cederquist and his co-conspirators issued false passing scores to at least three dozen CDL applicants, regardless of their performance—or whether they had taken the test at all. In some cases, passing scores were exchanged for bribes including luxury bottled water, snack food, a snowblower, a new driveway, and other goods valued in the thousands of dollars.
CDLs are federally regulated through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Passing these tests is required before the Registry of Motor Vehicles can issue a CDL. State data show the CDL pass rate ranged from 41% to 48% during the years in question.
In Massachusetts, members of the State Police CDL Unit are responsible for administering the three-part CDL skills test: Vehicle Inspection, Basic Control Skills, and Road Test. Former Trooper Cederquist was in charge of MSP’s CDL Unit, of which former Troopers Butner, Mendes and Rogers were members. Class A CDLs are required to drive combination vehicles (e.g., tractor-trailers). Class B CDLs are required to drive heavy single vehicles (e.g., box trucks, oil tankers, school buses). Test requirements for CDLs are established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Applicants receiving illicit passing scores included six troopers who never took the skills test and several employees of a water company with ties to Mathison.
“Golden” Code Word for Corruption
Text messages and other evidence revealed that Cederquist and his accomplices used the phrase “golden handshake” or simply “golden” to refer to applicants who were pre-selected to pass regardless of actual performance. The scheme involved the coordination of troopers, a driving school operator, and a commercial employer.
Among the CDL applicants were other MSP Troopers
Among the CDL applicants to whom Cederquist gave preferential treatment were six MSP Troopers who Cederquist falsely reported as having passed a Class A skills test. In reality, however, the Troopers did not take a real CDL skills test. For four of the Trooper applicants, Cederquist conspired with his friend Camara, who worked for a truck-driving school in Brockton, to accomplish this offense.
Cederquist also conspired with his friend Mathison, who worked for a water company that employed drivers who needed CDLs, to give passing scores to certain applicants affiliated with the water company. In exchange for the passing scores, Cederquist accepted bribes – for years – of free inventory from the water company, such as cases of bottled Fiji, VOSS and Essentia water, cases of bottled Arizona Iced Tea, coffee and tea products and boxes of Twizzlers and Swedish Fish, all of which Mathison delivered to an office trailer at the CDL test site in Stoughton. Cederquist sent Mathison a text describing one of these applicants as “an idiot,” who had “no idea what he’s doing,” and “should have failed about 10 times already.” Cederquist then texted Mathison that Mathison’s boss “owes big time.”
In exchange for using his official position to give preferential treatment to certain CDL applicants, Cederquist accepted a variety of bribes including inventory from Mathison’s water company valued in the thousands of dollars; a $750 granite post and mailbox; a new driveway valued at over $10,000; and a snowblower valued at nearly $2,000. Cederquist described one such applicant as “horrible,” and “brain dead,” but gave him a passing score anyway in exchange for the snowblower.
Law Enforcement and Oversight Response
Federal officials condemned the breach of public trust.
“It is never a good day when a member of law enforcement is convicted of a crime, especially when it is a crime that compromises public safety,” said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley. “Gary Cederquist chose bribery and extortion over his oath to protect the community which he was sworn to serve. His greed put the public at risk when he devised a scheme to issue commercial driver’s licenses to applicants who had never taken a real test to operate heavy commercial vehicles on the roads and highways of Massachusetts,” added Foley.
Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations New England, said the former sergeant “recklessly bypassed long-established testing and safety parameters” in a pursuit of personal enrichment.
The Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General added that the verdict “sends a strong message” and reaffirmed its commitment to preserving the integrity of motor carrier safety systems.
Maximum Penalties
Each count of conspiracy to commit extortion, honest services fraud, falsification of records, and related charges carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. False statements charges carry a maximum sentence of five years. Sentencing will be determined according to federal guidelines.
Cederquist remains out of custody pending sentencing. The outcome underscores ongoing federal efforts to root out corruption within law enforcement agencies and safeguard public safety standards tied to the operation of commercial motor vehicles.
