Connect with us

Massachusetts

Ex-Mass. State Police sergeant convicted in driver's license bribery scandal

Published

on

Ex-Mass. State Police sergeant convicted in driver's license bribery scandal


A former Massachusetts State Police sergeant who was among six people charged in a scheme to take bribes in exchange for giving passing scores on commercial driving tests was found guilty in federal court Friday on most counts, prosecutors said.

Gary Cederquist was the only one of the six to go to trial — the others took responsibility, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts.

The Stoughton resident was found guilty of extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, mail fraud, falsifying records and more, a total of 48 counts. He was acquitted of nine counts, including two of extortion and one of conspiracy, prosecutors said.

“Gary Cederquist chose bribery and extortion over his oath to protect the community which he was sworn to serve. His greed put the public at risk when he devised a scheme to issue commercial driver’s licenses to applicants who had never taken a real test to operate heavy commercial vehicles on the roads and highways of Massachusetts,” U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement.

Advertisement

State police dishonorably discharged Cederquist last year.

Two troopers have been suspended without pay from Massachusetts State Police as federal authorities investigate allegations of bribery.

Cederquist and three other former troopers and two civilians falsified records and gave preferential treatment to drivers who were taking their commercial drivers license, or CDL, test. Even when the drivers failed a skills test, the troopers passed them and communicated they had done so with a text and the code word “golden.”

Cederquist was in charge of the unit, and allegedly arranged to give passing scores to at least three dozen CDL applicants, whether or not they passed the skills test. Prosecutors said Cederquist, who was also accused of helping four state troopers get CDLs, accepted as bribes a new driveway worth $10,000, a snowblower valued at $2,000 and a $750 granite mailbox.

Most of the charges Cederquist was convicted on carry sentences of up to 20 years in prison. He’s due for sentencing July 24.

Advertisement

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.”



Source link

Massachusetts

20k customers without power in Revere, Winthrop areas

Published

on

20k customers without power in Revere, Winthrop areas


National Grid is reporting that roughly 20,000 customers are without power due to outages in the Winthrop and Revere areas.

The utility company’s live outages map shows that 10,753 customers are without power in the Revere area and 9,261 customers are without power in the Winthrop area as of 2:25 p.m. Saturday.

The Herald has reached out to National Grid for comment. The Herald has also reached out to Eversource for information regarding any outages in their service regions, where a Herald photographer has seen some outages. Eversource’s outage map did not display any major outages at 2:25 p.m.

This is a developing story.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Massachusetts

Eight takeaways from Friday’s high school playoffs action, including four 1,000-point scorers – The Boston Globe

Published

on

Eight takeaways from Friday’s high school playoffs action, including four 1,000-point scorers – The Boston Globe


Find the full scoreboard here, along with everything we wrote Friday night:

Not seeing your team’s highlights in Takeaways? Here are all the ways to submit scores and stats to Globe Schools via phone, email, and social media.

▪ Cathedral senior Keyona Raines scored 15 points, including the 1,000th of her career, as the No. 5 Panthers handled No. 28 Hudson, 60-43, in the first round of the Division 4 girls’ basketball tournament.

▪ Sutton junior captain Ava Carroll netted her 1,000th career point during a 29-point effort in a 49-31 Division 4 first-round win over Easthampton.

▪ With a layup in the waning seconds of the first half, Anna Freeman became the 10th Medway player, and first since Riley Childs in 2018, to score 1,000 career points. She finished the 55-24 Division 3 first-round win over St. Paul with 17. Her father, Matt Freeman, scored 1,000 points at Bishop Feehan.

▪ Burlington boys’ basketball senior Matty Gray reached 1,000 career points during a 25-point performance in a 95-58 Division 2 first-round rout of Holliston. He reached the mark on a first-quarter layup.

▪ Falmouth boys’ hockey senior Kody Pokraka rode two assists to 100 career points during a 5-4 Division 2 first-round win over Plymouth South.

It was a chalky day, with only one significant upset: No. 22 Greater Lawrence girls’ basketball easily handling No. 11 Hamilton-Wenham, 65-45, in the Division 4 first round thanks to 13 3-pointers as a team and a combined 47 points from Serenity West (24) and Maliah Caban (23).

Advertisement

The only other lower seeds to win were No. 18 Marshfield boys’ basketball, which took out No. 15 Cambridge, 66-63, in overtime in the Division 1 first round, and No. 34 Arlington Catholic boys’ basketball, which survived No. 31 Duxbury, 64-60, in Division 2 preliminary-round action.

The finish of the night came in No. 17 South Hadley’s 61-60 win over No. 16 Madison Park. Trailing 60-59 and inbounding with 10.3 seconds left, the Tigers got an off-balance 3-pointer, but junior Noah Hambley crashed the boards and in one fell swoop secured the rebound and put it back up off the glass for the winning bucket as time expired in a boys’ basketball Division 4 first-round matchup.

The Oliver Ames boys got four free throws from Jacob Lok in the final 26 seconds to squeak past Canton, 45-42, in the first round of the Division 2 bracket. The Acton-Boxborough girls also needed overtime to complete a 53-49 Division 1 first-round triumph over Brookline.

The only overtime hockey game of the night saw the Diman boys net an equalizer in the final minute of regulation before Marlborough’s Ethan Guo supplied the heroics just 2:08 into the extra frame, propelling the No. 8 Panthers into the Division 3 second round with a 6-5 victory. Anthony Tramontozzi and Chace Lozano each scored twice for Marlborough

Caroline Arruda, Marshfield — The sophomore poured in 32 points to push the Rams to a 68-63 preliminary-round win over Westborough.

Advertisement

Gaby Bassett, Nauset/Monomoy — The senior capped her hat trick with the winning goal in a 4-3 Division 2 opening-round win over Burlington.

Brody Bumila and Jake Webster, Bishop Feehan — The seniors took control of an 85-67 Division 1 first-round victory, with Bumila providing 32 points and 14 rebounds and Webster going for 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Avery Gamble, Oliver Ames — The senior’s 3-point shot wasn’t falling, but she didn’t let that get in the way of a 34-point performance, 2 off her career best, during a 59-50 Division 2 first-round win over Bedford.

Eileen Lowther, Hingham — The junior controlled the glass, pulling down 15 rebounds and blocking six shots to go with 12 points in a 54-43 Division 2 first-round win.

Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan — The senior from Dighton delivered 21 points, 9 steals, and 5 assists as the No. 2 Shamrocks rolled to a 71-30 Division 1 first-round victory over Peabody.

Advertisement

Maura Quirk, Acton-Boxborough — The sophomore was cleaning the glass to the tune of 17 rebounds while adding 13 points in a 53-49 overtime win in the first round of the Division 1 bracket.

Senior Sophia O’Donnell made history, becoming the first St. Mary’s athlete to sign to become a Division 1 rower. O’Donnell will row for Merrimack.

Milton Academy graduate Cormac Ryan signed a two-way NBA contract with the Bucks on Thursday, making him the fourth former member of the Middlesex Magic AAU program currently in the NBA, along with The Pistons’ Duncan Robinson, Hornets’ Pat Connaughton, and Knicks’ Tyler Kolek.

Ryan, who hails from New York, was a three-time All-NEPSAC selection at Milton Academy before playing at Stanford, Notre Dame, and North Carolina. He spent the last two seasons in the G League with the Oklahoma City Blue and Wisconsin Herd. He played with the Thunder’s Summer League team in 2024.

Quinnipiac junior Anna Foley, a 6-foot-3-inch Andover graduate, was celebrated for reaching 1,000 points during a ceremony Friday. She passed the mark on Feb. 12 in a 62-40 victory over Siena. A two-time All-MAAC second team selection, she’s averaging 9.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Advertisement

8. Basketball leaderboard

Avery Gamble, Oliver Ames, 34

Caroline Arruda, Marshfield, 32

Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan, 32

Weston Bunnell, Stoneham, 29

Advertisement

Joe Baraky, Duxbury, 28

Zach Georges, Pioneer Charter I, 27

Kelsi Lanza, Silver Lake, 27

Josh Roux, Andover, 26

Ava Bailey, Newburyport, 25

Advertisement

Allie Danis, Newton North, 25

Angie Djoko, Danvers, 25

Noah Feldman, Marshfield, 25

Matty Gray, Burlington, 25

Jackson Hines, Arlington Catholic, 25

Advertisement

Connor Houle, Attleboro, 25

Katelyn Troilo, Mansfield, 25

Alex Ste. Marie, Manchester Essex, 24

Serenity West, Greater Lawrence, 24

Noah Bayersdorfer, Winthrop, 23

Advertisement

Maliah Caban, Greater Lawrence, 23

Josh Jenkins, Barnstable, 23

Reagan Maniscalco, Tewksbury, 23

Colin Trimble, Foxborough, 23

Eva Andrews, Needham, 22

Advertisement

Alaysia Drummonds, Foxborough, 22

Trevor Manning, Ipswich, 22

Gia Porazzo, Foxborough, 22

Sarah Powers, Wayland, 22

Ryan Tullish, Middleborough, 22

Advertisement

Chase Gara, Sutton, 21

Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan, 21

LaDainian Rodrigues, Attleboro, 21

Rex Satter, Ipswich, 21

Jake Webster, Bishop Feehan, 21

Advertisement

Aboubakar Nimaka, Malden Catholic, 20

Dylan Raffle, Milton, 20

Maeve Horsman, Oliver Ames, 18

Eva Andrews, Needham, 17

Maura Quirk, Acton-Boxborough, 17

Advertisement

Tony Dean, Stoneham, 15

Eileen Lowther, Hingham, 15

Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan, 14

Angie Djoko, Danvers, 12

Camden Strandberg, Bridgewater-Raynham, 11

Advertisement

Avery Teixeira, Bishop Feehan, 11

Sophie Gallivan, North Reading, 10

Shannon LaMorticelli, Bishop Feehan, 10

Aboubakar Nimaka, Malden Catholic, 10

Zarah Ochi, Burlington, 10

Advertisement

Ashley Varnum, Bridgewater-Raynham, 10

Lila Polansky, Bridgewater-Raynham, 8

Duke Cherry, Malden Catholic, 7

Sophie Gallivan, North Reading, 7

Erin Reilly, Burlington, 7

Advertisement

Jake Webster, Bishop Feehan, 7

Caroline Connors, Millis, 6

Egan Gill, Bishop Feehan, 6

Rex Satter, Ipswich, 6

Marcus Tayag, Pioneer Charter I, 6

Advertisement

Rayana Laurent, Pingree, 5

Mollie Mullen, Bishop Feehan, 9

Reagan Maniscalco, Tewksbury, 6

Ella O’Keefe, Oliver Ames, 5

Dylan Raffle, Milton, 4

Advertisement

Ava Sicari, Burlington, 4

Rex Satter, Ipswich, 3

Eileen Lowther, Hingham, 6

Maeve Horsman, Oliver Ames, 5

Zarah Ochi, Burlington, 4

Advertisement

Gaby Bassett, Nauset/Monomoy, 3

Griff Callahan, Martha’s Vineyard, 2

Max Cronen, Monomoy/Mashpee, 2

Addy Harrington, Duxbury, 2

Jaxon Hoey, Norwell, 2

Advertisement

Chace Lozano, Marlborough, 2

Mackenna Metell, Martha’s Vineyard, 2

Christos Rogaris, Dover-Sherborn/Weston, 2

Mark Trahon, Norwood, 2

Anthony Tramontozzi, Marlborough, 2

Advertisement

Bryce Campanale, Norwell, 3

Maeve Turner, Falmouth, 3

Violet Cox, Falmouth, 2

Ryan Heidt, Martha’s Vineyard, 2

Cam Long, Norwell, 2

Advertisement

Kody Pokraka, Falmouth, 2

Bailen Darack, Martha’s Vineyard, 22

Sammie Precourt, Dennis-Yarmouth, 16


Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Massachusetts

State health officials announce two confirmed cases of measles in Massachusetts – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

Published

on

State health officials announce two confirmed cases of measles in Massachusetts – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


BOSTON (WHDH) – State public health officials have announced two confirmed cases of measles in Massachusetts this year.

The first case came from a school-aged resident who was exposed and diagnoses while out of state. This person has remained out of state during the infectious period.

The second case was diagnosed by an adult in Greater Boston. Officials say this person had recently returned from international travel with an uncertain vaccination history.

This person visited several locations. Both local and state health officials are working with the locations to identify and notify those who were potentially exposed.

Advertisement

“Our first two measles cases in 2026 demonstrate the impact that the measles outbreaks, nationally and internationally, can have here at home. Fortunately, thanks to high vaccination rates, the risk to most Massachusetts residents remains low,” said Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, MD, PhD. “Measles is the most contagious respiratory virus and can cause life-threatening illness. These cases are a reminder of the need for health care providers and local health departments to remain vigilant for cases so that appropriate public health measures can be rapidly employed to prevent spread in the state. This is also a reminder that getting vaccinated is the best way for people to protect themselves from this disease.” 

(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Join our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending