Why were Mass state troopers arrested? Charges explored amid driver's licence bribery scandal

Six people, including two current and two former state troopers, have been accused of taking bribes from people to pass them on commercial driving tests. They have been slapped with several charges, including extortion and conspiracy. Among the six people, two civilians are involved as well.

In a news conference on Tuesday, acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy mentioned that several people received their Commercial Driver's Licenses in August 2018. The problem is that many of them have either failed the test or didn't appear for the same. CBS News reported that only a few drivers in Massachusetts are expected to pass the CDL test.

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Two current Massachusetts State troopers and two former ones, among six people, have been accused of bribery

Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy has revealed the arrest of six people. The list includes two ex-state troopers- Troopers Calvin Butner, 63, and Perry Mendes, 63. The two current troopers have been identified as Sgt. Gary Cederquist, 58, and Trooper Joel Rogers, 54. While Butner and Mended were arrested on Monday, the other two have been taken into custody on Tuesday. Along with Rogers and Cederquist, two civilians were arrested too. They have been identified as Scott Camara, 42 and Eric Mathison, 47.

The civilians were reportedly friends of Cederquist. In the Tuesday news conference, Joshua Levy said:

"The grand jury indictment against these six men includes charges of extortion, honest services mail fraud, conspiracy, false statements and falsifications of records."

Levy further added:

"In short, 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."

The suspects have been charged with three counts of conspiracy to falsify records, three counts of conspiracy to commit extortion, three counts of extortion, six counts of honest services mail fraud, 31 counts of falsification of records, 27 counts of false statements, and one count of perjury.

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Several unqualified vehicles were reported in the investigation

NBC News reported a few texts that the arrested state troopers have circulated among each other. Many of those texts stated how "brain dead" a few applicants were. According to WCVB, Massachusetts State Police Department Interim Superintendent Colonel John Mawn Jr. stated the incident and said:

"The Massachusetts State Police demand and expect all members to conduct themselves with integrity, honesty and in accordance with all federal and state laws and Department policies, rules and regulations."

The news station further reported Gov. Maura Healey's statement, saying that he is aware of the charges filed. Healey believes that transparency is required in such an investigation. During the investigation, authorities also tried to determine which vehicles should have been unqualified but were passed by state troopers. These vehicles were then reported to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.

Cederquist, Mathison, Rogers, and Camara have pleaded not guilty to the allegations. The case is currently an ongoing investigation. The president of the State Police Association, Brian Williams, expressed disappointment when these allegations were introduced.