Ex-State Trooper to Plead Guilty to Falsifying Commercial Driver’s License Scores

A former Massachusetts State Police trooper has agreed to plead guilty to his role in an alleged conspiracy to falsify records by giving passing scores to certain commercial driver’s license (CDL) applicants even if they failed the CDL test or took less than the full test required by federal law.

In January 2024, Calvin Butner, of Halifax, was charged in a 74-count indictment along with five others in the alleged conspiracy and related schemes.

According to the charging document, between about May 2019 and January 2023, Butner and three other members of the CDL unit conspired to give preferential treatment to at least 17 applicants by agreeing to give passing scores on their CDL tests regardless of whether or not they actually passed.

Butner and the co-defendants allegedly used the code word “golden” to identify these applicants. The indictment alleges that Butner gave passing scores to applicants about whom he texted the following comments to a co-conspirator:

• “This guys a mess. . . . Lol. He owes u a prime rib 6inch.”
  • “Golden mess. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣”
  • “He’s a mess Class A truck 2psi loss with truck running truck cut our again while timing 🤣🤣🤣🤣”
  • “Total mess this guy[.] i think some time[s] we should just do what we can but not golden. I’ll tell you about it later.”

Prosecutors said Butner has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to falsify records, falsifying records and aiding and abetting and making false statementsIn addition to the false records conspiracy, Butner has also agreed to plead guilty to giving passing scores to three applicants who failed the CDL test, and making false statements by giving passing scores to five applicants who did not take the test at all.

State Troopers Arrested for Alleged Commercial Driver’s License Bribery Scam

On March 21 a civilian co-defendant, Eric Mathison, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, according to prosecutors.

All CDL recipients identified as not qualified during the course of this investigation have been reported to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.

According to court documents, a CDL is required to drive a commercial vehicle, such as a tractor-trailer, a box truck, or a school bus. Test requirements for CDLs are established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. However, states administer CDL tests and issue the licenses.

U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley, Michael J. Krol of Homeland Security, and Christopher A. Scharf of the. Department of Transportation made the announcement regarding Butner..

The details in the charging documents are allegations. Butner and his-codefendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Topics Commercial Lines Business Insurance Personal Auto Law Enforcement