Driving license exams are no doubt anxiety-inducing, but one man from Boston managed to overcome that and “game” the system by offering bottled water and sweetened beverages to state police. Sadly, the authorities have cracked down on the rather extensive beverage bribing conspiracy, leaving the conspirators high and dry.
The Boston man in question is Eric Mathison, 48, and he has already pleaded guilty on March 21 to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion. Mathison will then be sentenced on June 13. Mathison’s charges actually began back in January 2024 when he also involved five people in a conspiracy to circumvent driving tests.
That’s because Mathison worked for a water company that needed drivers. These drivers, of course, needed commercial driver’s licenses (CDL). Hence, Mathison resorted to bribing Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Gary Cederquist, who was in charge of the CDL unit, in order to give Mathison’s drivers a passing score in their driving tests.
Sgt. Cederquist delivered, and in exchange, he received free supplies of bottled water (Fiji brand), Arizona Iced Tea, coffee, and even energy drinks from Mathison. Mathison even brought the beverages to Cederquist’s office trailer at the CDL test site. Several applicants have since passed their CDL tests even though some of them “should have failed 10 times already” according to Cederquist.
Other written exchanges between Mathison and Cederquist point out how some of the CDL passers were “an idiot” or had “no idea what he’s doing” along with the state trooper asking for a beverage top-up, according to MassLive’s transcripts.
The Judge’s Verdict? Definitely Guilt-tea
Since Mathison already pleaded guilty, he could be looking at a maximum of 20 years in prison or a fine of up to $250,000. It’s not clear what’s going to happen to Cederquist, but he could also receive a similar fine or punishment seeing as he let loose some really bad drivers out on the highways. So far, Cederquist has been dishonorably discharged.
Meanwhile, there’s also a high chance that the drivers involved would get their CDLs or even regular licenses revoked. People online were in disbelief at how little it took for the state trooper to cave while others joked about the matter.
“It’s really incredible how easy it is to bribe the average person. You’d think someone in this position would try to milk some cash out of it but nope, Arizona Iced Tea and some teabags were what got the train out of the station,” pointed out Redditor Interesting-Roll2563
“I guess he needed the test… Watered down. Yeaaaaah he’s still going to jail,” jokes Redditor Commercial-Fennel219
Granted, it’s not the first time someone got bribed for a passing score on a driving test. Other Massachusetts state troopers are even in the “business” of trading favors for sex acts. It’s just that water and beverages for Boston CDLs seem like a lopsided trade. Several other Boston state troopers have also been involved in similar bribing conspiracies.
