>G'Mornin' Anons… Another Day at the Office.
>Mornin' Ralph… Please pass the Monday Dark Roast Covfefe.
California power outages
>good morning Ralph.
>we get the rumors from State House gossip anon about something big coming in Massaschusetts, could this be it?
does seem to be lots of habbenings in Massachusetts.
Previous US attorney resigned for corruption and this Levy guy appears to not be fucking around.
Feds charge Massachusetts State Police troopers in alleged bribery fraud scheme
PUBLISHED: January 30, 2024 at 9:26 a.m. | UPDATED: January 30, 2024 at 7:36 p.m.
A Massachusetts State Police sergeant and trooper, as well as two retired troopers and two civilians, were arrested as part of a 74-count indictment alleging that they traded favors in exchange for unearned commercial drivers licenses.
“As alleged in this indictment, the CDLs were for sale and troopers were bribed with free goods to pass applicants no matter how they performed on the test,” Acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy said Tuesday announcing the indictments.
“You need to pass these tests in order to operate large vehicles on highways and in our neighborhoods, things like tractor-trailers, oil tankers, and school buses,” he continued. “These standards and regulations exist for one very simple reason: to protect and prevent death and injuries from the operation of commercial motor vehicles.”
The alleged conspiracy, which Levy said began in 2017, went down at the MSP’s Commercial Driver’s Licensing unit.
Active members charged are Sgt. Gary Cederquist, 58, of Stoughton, and Trooper Joel Rogers, 54, of Bridgewater. In addition, retired MSP Troopers Calvin Butner, 63, of Halifax, and Perry Mendes, 63, of Wareham, were each arrested Monday in Florida.
Cederquist and Rogers as well as civilians Scott Camara, 42, of Rehoboth, and Eric Mathison, 47, of Boston, who are both described as friends of Cederquist’s, were arrested Tuesday morning. The four made brief appearances at federal court in Boston where they pleaded not guilty and were released. The retired troopers arrested in Florida will be arraigned at a later date.
The 76-page complaint document is chockablock with alleged text message exchanges between the co-conspirators in which they referred to the applicants who would pass no matter what as receiving “the golden handshake” or “the golden treatment.” Some of the alleged texts showed the defendants laughing over major skills failures by their favored applicants.
“Your buddy passed yesterday he owes you that’s an automatic Fail leaving the door open !!! Also did not have 3 points of contact and [they] came out forward instead of backwards but [they] passed thanks to you,” Cederquist allegedly texted his unnamed boss on May 16, 2019.
Another example has Butner texting Cederquist about another applicant: “This guys a mess.” Cederquist allegedly responded with crying laughing emojis before Butner responded with “Lol. He owes u a prime rib 6inch.”
Cederquist is accused of handing over CDLs for gifts like a new driveway valued at $10,000 and a $2,000 snowblower.
Each defendant is charged with various counts of extortion, honest services mail fraud, conspiracy, false statements, and falsification of records.
Two other alleged conspirators were named as “Friend Conspirator” and “Trooper Administrator” in the lengthy indictment but were not charged and arrested. Levy said that he couldn’t go into specifics about who these people are but said only that the investigation is ongoing.
While the requirements of a CDL are regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the skills tests to see if a driver meets the requirements are administered by the state. In Massachusetts, that role is performed by the State Police.
The CDL skills test is not an easy one, as, according to the indictment, the most recent years for which data is available each show that more than half of applicants did not pass. In 2019, 48% of applicants passed, 44% in 2020, and 41% in both 2021 and 2022.
Levy said that the investigation so far has uncovered roughly two dozen drivers who bribed their way into a CDL and do not safely meet the requirements of operating such large vehicles on America’s roadways. Levy said his office is working with Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles to identify these potentially dangerous drivers.
Levy would not say how the investigation began and while the 2019 crash in New Hampshire in which a commercial truck driver was charged with killing seven motorcyclists “certainly would heightened interest when allegations of this nature come in, but we are not allegedly connection between that incident and what we’re charging here.”
https://www.bostonherald.com/2024/01/30/feds-charge-massachusetts-state-troopers-in-alleged-bribery-fraud-scheme/
>Feds charge Massachusetts State Police troopers in alleged bribery fraud scheme
The State Police became aware of the federal investigation into the CDL unit toward the end of 2022 and launched its own inquiry and cooperated with federal investigators, according to department officials. During that investigation, Cederquist and others were reassigned from the unit in 2023 and the MSP brought in reforms including increased surprise visits by supervisors and requiring body cameras be used during CDL road testing.
Col. John Mawn Jr., the Interim Superintendent of the MSP, said, in a statement that the agency demands “all members to conduct themselves with integrity, honesty, and in accordance with all federal and state laws and Department policies, rules, and regulations.”
He said his agency “condemns” the alleged actions of the defendants, which he said “is the antithesis of and in stark contrast to the values, character, and integrity exhibited by the overwhelming majority of our Troopers every day in service to the public.”
The president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts, the agency’s union, said that his organization is “disappointed to learn of the recent indictments.”
“The Association is devoted to the welfare of not just our Troopers and their families, but also the people of Massachusetts who are committed to the principles of justice, accountability, and transparency,” SPAM President Brian Williams wrote in a statement. “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.