A Texas man who issued fraudulent commercial driver’s licenses netting $215,000 while he worked for the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has been sentenced to two years in prison, according to a news release.
Alonzo Blackman, 68, of San Antonio, was sentenced Wednesday on one count of conspiracy to commit mail and honest services fraud, a crime he pleaded guilty to in February 2020.
Authorities said the crimes were committed from January 2017 to June 2019, when Blackman oversaw the issuance of 215 fraudulent CDLs from the DPS. The licenses are required to drive and operate large commercial vehicles or buses.
According to court documents, Blackman did not administer the skills test for 215 applicants but passed them as if it had been conducted.
“This case represents an appalling breach of public trust and safety,” U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff said in a statement.
Blackman was compensated about $1,000 for each fraudulent CDL. The bribes were paid through co-defendants Fernando Guardado Vazquez, 43, of San Antonio, and Marino Maury Diaz-Leon, 55, a Cuban national residing in San Antonio.
Of the 215 fraudulent CDLs, 197 went to Cuban nationals; 11 to U.S. citizens; one to a Dominican Republic national; one to an Ethiopian national; one to an Iraqi national; one to a Puerto Rican national; one to a Ukrainian national; and two to Mexican nationals, the release said.
Diaz-Leon pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and honest services fraud and was sentenced to a year in prison. Vazquez is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 10 after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services fraud.
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James
When I went to Germany as a Soldier before I got my license to drive in that country I had to pass the Truckers test first, if I didn’t pass that test, I couldn’t get my license to operate a car are anything less than a Semi. Maybe the US of A should follow the same thing.
Harry
The examiner should be responsible for all accidents, injuries, damages caused by the drivers he put onto the roadways
John
Why aren’t them drivers pulled off the road and prosecuted too for bribing a public official !!!
John
Why aren’t those drivers pulled off the road and prosecuted too for bribing a public official !!!
John Groeneveld
That’s why there are to many untrained “Truck Drivers” in America,that puts every motorist and qualified driver in harm’s way,can’t fix stupid,even with duct tape
John
Car drivers need to go through half of the deal a truck driver does !! We could get half of them idiots off the road !! The bigger a vehicle you drive the stupider car drivers are around you !!!