Boston Man Sentenced to Prison for Extortion Conspiracy

BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced yesterday for his role in a conspiracy to give bribes to former Massachusetts State Police (MSP) Sergeant Gary Cederquist, in exchange for Cederquist giving false passing scores to certain Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) applicants who had failed or had taken only partial CDL skills tests.

Eric Mathison, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to one year and one day in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The government recommended a sentence of 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

In January 2024, Mathison was charged in a 74-count indictment along with five others, including Cederquist and other former troopers who worked in MSP’s CDL Unit, which was led by Cederquist. Mathison pleaded guilty in March 2025. Cederquist was convicted by a jury in May and awaits sentencing.

Mathison worked for a water company that employed drivers who needed CDLs to drive their delivery vehicles. Cederquist gave passing scores to multiple applicants from the water company who actually failed the CDL skills test, as well as others who took only a partial test, in exchange for bribes of free inventory from the water company, such as cases of bottled Fiji, VOSS and Essentia water, cases of bottled Arizona Iced Tea, coffee and tea products, energy drinks, and Twizzlers and Swedish Fish candy, all of which Mathison delivered to an office trailer at the CDL test site in Stoughton, Mass. Mathison admitted to his communications with Cederquist about particular CDL applicants and their performance on the skills test as well as inventory from the water company that Cederquist requested and that Mathison delivered. For example, Mathison received texts from Cederquist describing one water company applicant as “an idiot,” who had “no idea what he’s doing,” and “should have failed about 10 times already.” Cederquist then gave this applicant a passing score. On another occasion, Mathison asked Cederquist, “Hows the trailer holding,” to which Cederquist responded, “In desperate need of restocking,” along with a specific request for, among other things, premium bottled water, tea, energy drinks and a “truckload of large water.”

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Brian C. Gallagher, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Wichers and Adam W. Deitch of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted the case.