Another pleads guilty to Massachusetts State Police CDL conspiracy

Yet another member of a Massachusetts State Police unit who conspired to hand out unearned commercial drivers licenses to “golden” applicants has pleaded guilty to his role.

Scott Camara, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to falsify records and one count of perjury. The first carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and the second a maximum of five years in prison. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for July 21.

Camara, one of two civilian defendants, was charged with five others in January 2024 in a 74-count indictment. The lengthy document alleged that members of the MSP’s CDL unit, which is responsible for testing applicants to federal standards for commercial trucking, fraudulently passed applicants who had provided goods or services in exchange for passing the difficult test.

Examples include a $10,000 driveway and a $2,000 snow blower, both of which were for alleged leader Sgt. Gary Cederquist, who is currently on trial for his role. Another defendant, Perry Mendes, pleaded guilty on Tuesday.

The indictment alleges that between May 2019 and January 2023, the unit gave automatic passing scores to at least 17 CDL applicants regardless of their ability on the skills test, or if they even actually took the skills test at all.

Each defendant is charged with various counts of extortion, honest services mail fraud, conspiracy, false statements, and falsification of records.