08-08-2025
Ex-Mass. State Police trooper gets month in prison for driver's license scheme
A 64-year-old man who worked as a Massachusetts State Police trooper for more than three decades was sentenced to a month in prison for his role in a scheme to award commercial driver's licenses to unqualified applicants.
Perry Mendes pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to falsify records, three counts of falsifying records and two counts of making false statements in April. He was one of four state troopers implicated in the scheme, which prosecutors say posed a major public safety risk.
Prosecutors sought a year-long jail sentence for Mendes, while his lawyers lobbied for a sentence of time served for the roughly 25 hours Mendes spent in maximum security detention in Florida.
Sentencing arguments
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine J. Wichers laid out the government's case during the Thursday morning hearing in federal court in Boston.
She acknowledged Mendes had a difficult childhood. In their setencing memorandum, prosecutors described Mendes' family as 'dysfunctional with horrific incidents of domestic violence.' Mendes began working at 13 to support his family, while still going to school.
But Mendes overcame his circumstances, graduating from high school and completing some college courses. He is a married father of three and close to his friends and family.
That history weighs in favor of a stricter sentence, prosecutors argued. Mendes was not impoverished or suffering from substance abuse when he committed the crimes he ultimately pleaded guilty to, unlike many other criminal defendants.
Mendes spent most of his 37 years as a trooper in the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section, also known as the 'Truck Team.' There, he became an expert in trucks and other heavy vehicles — knowledge that Wichers argued should have dissuaded Mendes from participating in the scheme.
Mendes saw firsthand 'how critical those regulations are for purposes of promoting public safety,' she said.
When Mendes was transferred to the Commercial Drivers License Unit, he wielded tremendous power. Troopers in that unit had the power to pass or fail applicants on the intensive driver's license test, many of whom needed the license to get or keep jobs.
But for the last three years of his career, Mendes used that power to break the law and award licenses to certain applicants referred to as 'golden.' R. Bradford Bailey, a lawyer for Mendes, argued that he never profited directly from the scheme.
Instead, Mendes was simply doing as he was ordered by Gary Cederquist, the sergeant who ran the unit and orchestrated the scheme. While Bailey argued that didn't excuse his client's conduct, it was a useful reference point compared to others who directly profited.
'I respectfully submit it is fair to compare his conduct with others in the conspiracy who did profit,' he told U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani.
Prosecutors noted that Mendes had one of the lowest passing rates of any trooper in the unit — passing only 26% of the more than 3,000 applicants who took the test between January 2019 and April 2022, when he retired. But when it came to those 'goldens,' Mendes passed 100% of those he tested.
Troopers involved in the scheme would often fabricate passing scores for applicants pre-selected to get licenses, either having them complete only part of the test or not attempt it at all. Other applicants failed the test, but were given passing scores. Those scores would then be entered into a database certifying the applicant had passed.
'He had 30 years experience seeing what people who don't follow the federal regulations can do,' Wichers said of Mendes. 'For him to join the CDL unit, then throw away that knowledge and risk what he knew was a risk to public safety is something we believe the court should consider.'
Wichers argued that a significant sentence for Mendes and the other troopers implicated in the scheme could deter future police corruption in Massachusetts.
The 'message needs to be hammered home,' she said, noting several other state police troopers were implicated in an overtime scandal, as were several Boston Police officers in another, unrelated scheme to collect unworked overtime.
But Bailey, Mendes' lawyer, pointed to his history of distinguished service — Mendes was twice selected for President Bill Clinton's security detail and had no disciplinary history at the state police prior to his involvement in the driver's license scheme.
'He has accepted responsibility for everything without equivocation,' Bailey said, adding that Mendes 'didn't know the extent to which the others may have been doing it.'
Mendes' apology
Before Talwani handed down his sentence, Mendes rose to offer an apology for his actions.
He told Talwani he regretted the pain and disappointment he had caused with his actions, and that he wanted to live out his remaining days by working to earn the trust back that he had forfeited.
'I can only hope in time those I disappointed can find it in their hearts to forgive me,' Mendes said. 'I know I fell short when it mattered most. I should've ended my distinguished career with integrity.'
'I understand the court must weigh justice, I respectfully ask for your compassion,' he added.
Talwani's sentence
Before handing down the sentence, Talwani laid out her assessment of the case.
The driver's license scandal differed from the overtime scandals in a key way, she said, because passing unqualified drivers created a real danger on the roads.
Mendes differed from the other troopers implicated, she said.
'It seems to me what we have here is we have some people involved in the conspiracy who were all in, who were gaining, taking their circumstances and taking advantage of the power of these positions and abusing it for personal gain and with a real cavalier attitude toward the public safety,' Talwani said. 'That's not Mr. Mendes.'
'What I'm left with is a sense that when you have corruption of this sort, for whatever reason, law enforcement individuals who ... know better aren't reporting it,' she continued. 'I think that's what gives me the greatest concern here.'
While Mendes may have been less involved than other troopers, Talwani said his conduct ultimately warranted a sanction.
Talwani ultimately sentenced Mendes to a month in prison, giving him 60 days to report at his lawyer's request. Mendes will also spend a year on supervised release, with the first two months under home confinement.
After the hearing, Mendes shook hands with the prosecutors before leaving the courtroom with Bradley.
In a brief interview, Bradley said he was 'grateful [Talwani] recognized his 37 years of service' and the fact '[Mendes] has otherwise led an exemplary life.'
Other defendants
Of the six people charged in connection with the scheme, four, including Mendes, agreed to plead guilty before going to trial. Another trooper, Joel Rogers, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the government.
Cederquist, the ringleader, was convicted following a trial in federal court.
Mendes is the first to be sentenced. Prosecutors are seeking a slightly longer sentence of 15 months for Calvin Butner, who, like Mendes, was retired by the time the indictments were filed.
Butner's sentencing is set for Aug. 12 at 2:30 p.m.
Sentencing for Cederquist is set for Sept. 16 at 3 p.m.
More News
'Bee lady' nabbed in Tennessee 2 days after going on the lam when she skipped her own trial
'Funding crisis' means private attorneys who take federal public defense cases won't be paid for months
Embattled WMass school guidance counselor declares her innocence in face of 'false allegations'
North Andover officer shot by fellow cop arraigned on criminal charges Thursday
Gary Gemme, former Worcester chief of police and US Navy veteran, dies
Read the original article on MassLive.
