A former Massachusetts State Police trooper has pleaded guilty in a bribery scheme that gave passing scores to unqualified commercial driver’s license applicants in exchange for kickbacks, the U.S. Attorney said Tuesday.
Perry Mendes, 64, of Wareham, pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of conspiracy to falsify records, three counts of falsifying records and two counts of making false statements, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement.
U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for July 15.
In January 2024, Mendes was charged in a 74-count indictment along with five others in the alleged conspiracy and related schemes.
They include former Massachusetts State Police Trooper Calvin Butner, 64, of Halifax, who pleaded guilty on April 7 for his role in the bribery scheme; civilian Eric Mathison, 48, of Boston, who pleaded guilty on March 21 to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion; and Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Gary Cederquist, 58, of Stoughton, and Trooper Joel Rogers, 54, of Bridgewater, who were taken off the job following duty status hearings in 2024.
Cederquist and Rogers were later arraigned in federal court in Boston, where they both pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Cederquist retired from the department in 2024 after being suspended without pay.
According to the charging document, between in on or about May 2019 and January 2023, Mendes and others conspired to give automatic passing scores to at least 17 CDL applicants on their skills tests regardless of whether they actually passed, using the code word “golden handshake” or “golden,” for short, to identify applicants who would receive special treatment.
At the plea hearing on Friday, Mendes admitted to his role in the alleged conspiracy, including that he cut skills tests short for “golden” applicants; that he entered false information on CDL score sheets indicating that certain applicants had passed the skills test when they had not; and that he reported passing scores for applicants he knew had never taken the skills test.
For the charge of conspiracy to commit extortion, Mendes faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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