Ex Mass. State Police Sgt. Gary Cederquist Gets 6 Years, $30K Fine, $18.3K Restitution & Forfeiture.

A former Massachusetts State Police sergeant has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for running a CDL bribery scheme that awarded passing scores to unqualified applicants. Gary Cederquist, 60, of Stoughton, was also ordered to pay a $30,000 fine, $18,300 in restitution, and $18,300 in forfeiture, and will serve two years of supervised release after prison.
Cederquist was convicted on multiple charges, including extortion, conspiracy, honest services mail fraud, falsifying records, and making false statements. He was originally indicted in January 2024 alongside three other troopers and two civilians:
Calvin Butner, 65, Halifax
Perry Mendes, 65, Wareham
Joel Rogers, 56, Bridgewater
Scott Camara, 44, Rehoboth
Eric Mathison, 48, Boston
Prosecutors said that from 2019 to 2023, Cederquist and his co-conspirators passed at least three dozen CDL applicants regardless of test performance, using the code “golden handshake.” In one message, Cederquist mocked a favored applicant as someone who “should have failed about 10 times.”
He accepted bribes ranging from bottled drinks and candy to larger items like a $750 granite mailbox, a $10,000 driveway, and a $2,000 snowblower.
Sentences for the co-defendants include:
Butner: three months in prison
Mendes: one month in prison
Mathison: one year and one day in prison
Camara: one month in prison
All include supervised release after incarceration.

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