Latest news with #GaryCederquist
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
Massachusetts man convicted in CDL bribery scam
A former sergeant with the Massachusetts State Police is to be sentenced July 24 after he was found guilty in a scheme to accept bribes in exchange for providing CDL applicants passing test scores. Gary Cederquist, 59, of Stoughton, Massachusetts, was convicted on Friday by a federal jury. He had accepted bribes ranging from a new $10,000 driveway to a granite post and mailbox to cases of bottled water, The Boston Herald reported. Among the dozens of charges on which Cederquist was convicted were extortion, honest services mail fraud and conspiracy to commit extortion. He was acquitted of nine related charges. Cederquist, two other troopers and two civilians were accused in connection with the scheme, which was conducted from mid-2019 to early 2023, according to The Associated Press. Four of the five have pleaded guilty. The officers passed dozens of drivers who had failed CDL skills tests or hadn't even taken the tests, letting them know they had passed through a text and the word 'golden.' Cederquist called one applicant 'brain dead' and 'horrible' but passed him in exchange for a snowblower, the Herald reported. '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,' U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley said in a news release. '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. The U.S. Attorney's Office has the utmost respect for law enforcement, but we will not stand idly by if they violate the law.' The AP noted that the CDL unit of the Massachusetts State Police, where Cederquist was in charge, has made several reforms in recent years, including: Requiring that body cameras be worn during exams. Conducting more frequent unannounced visits to the unit by supervisors. Having examiners at training sites. Developing new training procedures. The pass rate on the CDL skills test in Massachusetts was 48% in 2019, 44% in 2020, 41% in 2021 and 41% in 2022, the Herald reported. Related: Feds charge Massachusetts state troopers in alleged CDL bribery scheme The post Massachusetts man convicted in CDL bribery scam appeared first on FreightWaves.
Toronto Sun
02-05-2025
- Toronto Sun
Former Massachusetts sergeant found guilty of taking bribes to pass commercial drivers
Published May 02, 2025 • 3 minute read A man walks to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles office in Lawrence, Mass., May 5, 2020. Photo by Charles Krupa / AP BOSTON — A former Massachusetts state police sergeant was found guilty Friday of taking part in a scheme to take bribes, including a new snowblower and a driveway, in exchange for giving passing scores on commercial driving tests. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Gary Cederquist, 59, of Stoughton, was convicted of nearly 50 charges, including two counts of conspiracy to commit extortion, one count of extortion and six counts of honest services mail fraud. Cederquist was one of three troopers along with two civilians accused of falsifying records and giving preferential treatment to at least 17 drivers from May 2019 to January 2023, who were taking their commercial driver's license test Even when the drivers failed a skills test, the troopers passed them and communicated they had done so with a text and the code word golden. Some troopers even joked in the text messages how badly a driver had performed on the test, according to the indictment. Four of the five have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. '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,' U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Gary Cederquist chose bribery and extortion over his oath to protect the community which he was sworn to serve,' she said. '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.' Elise Chawaga, principal assistant inspector general for investigations with the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, said the verdict 'sends a strong message to those who may be motivated by greed to abuse their positions — they will be met with the full force of the criminal justice system.' A lawyer for Cederquist did not return a call seeking comment. The bribery scandal is the latest trouble to hit the Massachusetts State Police. Forty-six current and retired troopers who worked for the now disbanded Troop E, which patrolled the Massachusetts Turnpike, were implicated in a scheme in which they collected overtime pay for shifts they either did not work or did not complete from 2015 until 2017, authorities said. Often, they said, the troopers issued falsified traffic tickets to make it appear as if they had been on duty. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The bribery scandal also raised concerns about the integrity of a licensing system set up to certify commercial drivers because a majority of those taking the test in Massachusetts fail. The latest data from 2022, federal officials said, showed a pass rate of 41%. In 2019, the system came under fire after Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, a commercial truck driver, crashed into a group of motorcyclists in northern New Hampshire, causing the death of seven motorcyclists. Zhukovskyy's commercial driving license should have been revoked in Massachusetts at the time of the crash because of a drunken driving arrest in Connecticut about two months earlier. Connecticut officials alerted the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, but Zhukovskyy's license wasn't suspended because of a backlog of out-of-state notifications about driving offenses. In recent years, state police have made a number of reforms to the commercial driver's license unit, including requiring body cameras be worn during exams, increasing the frequency of unannounced visits to the unit by supervisors, having examiners at training sites, as well as developing new training procedures and a curriculum. Toronto Maple Leafs Editorial Cartoons Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA Hockey
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘Motivated by greed': Former MSP Sgt. found guilty in commercial driver's license bribery scheme
A former Massachusetts State Police Sergeant was convicted Friday in a bribery scheme that gave commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) to unqualified drivers in exchange for kickbacks, including a repaved driveway, and a new snowblower. Gary Cederquist, 59, of Stoughton, was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to commit extortion, one count of extortion, six counts of honest services mail fraud, three counts of conspiracy to falsify records, 19 counts of falsification of records and 17 counts of false statements. He was acquitted on one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, two counts of extortion, three counts of falsification of records and three counts of false statements. As head of the MSP's CDL Unit, Cederquist was charged in a 74-count indictment in January 2024 along with three other Massachusetts State Police troopers and two civilians for their alleged roles in the conspiracy. The co-conspirators include: Former Trooper Calvin Butner, 64, of Halifax; Former Trooper Perry Mendes, 64, of Wareham; Former Trooper Joel Rogers, 56, of Bridgewater; Scott Camara, 44, of Rehoboth; and Eric Mathison, 48, of Boston. Butner, Mendes, Camara and Mathison have all pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, according to the Department of Justice. '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 United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. 'Gary Cederquist chose bribery and extortion over his oath to protect the community which he was sworn to serve.' Charging documents allege between February 2019 and January 2023, Cederquist arranged for he and his co-conspirators to give passing scores to at least three dozen CDL applicants regardless of whether or not they had actually passed or even taken the test. The men used the code word 'golden handshake' or 'golden' to identify applicants who received special treatment. Court documents show Cederquist once described one applicant as 'horrible,' and 'brain dead,' but passed him anyways. In exchange for licenses, Cederquist and his co-conspirators accepted a variety of bribes such as 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, according to charging documents. 'Today's verdict sends a strong message to those who may be motivated by greed to abuse their positions—that they will be met with the full force of the criminal justice system,' said Elise Chawaga, Principal Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General. 'DOT OIG remains committed to working with our Federal law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to uphold motor carrier rules and regulations, which are integral to maintaining safety on our Nation's roadways.' U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled Cederquist's sentencing for July 24. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
