A former Massachusetts State Police trooper was sentenced last week in federal court in Boston for his role in a conspiracy to falsify records by giving passing scores to certain Commercial Driver’s License applicants, including individuals who had failed or did not take the CDL skills test as required by federal law.
Perry Mendes, 64, of Wareham, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to one month in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release with the first two months on home confinement. The government recommended a sentence of one year in prison and a fine of $5,500.
In July, Mendes pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to falsify records, three counts of falsifying records and two counts of making false statements. In January 2024, Mendes was charged in a 74-count indictment along with five others in the alleged conspiracy and related schemes.
Menedes spent 37 years with the Massachusetts State Police. He retired in 2022.
Between January 2019 and April 2022, Mendes conspired with others to give automatic passing scores to at least 17 CDL applicants on their skills tests regardless of whether they actually passed, using the code word “golden handshake” or “golden,” for short, to identify applicants who would receive special treatment.
In July 2025, Mendes admitted to his role in the alleged conspiracy, including that he cut skills tests short for “golden” applicants; that he entered false information on CDL score sheets indicating that certain applicants had passed the skills test when they had not; and that he reported passing scores for one applicant he knew had never taken the skills test.
The website masslive.com reports that Mendes was doing as he was ordered by Gary Cederquist, the sergeant who ran the unit and orchestrated the scheme.
