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.
Click for more FreightWaves articles by Noi Mahoney.
More articles by Noi Mahoney
Canada extends COVID restrictions to Sept. 30