A Brockton driving school owner is facing the music after being accused of greasing the wheels with a crooked deal, allegedly paying off a road test examiner with hefty bribes to get driver's licenses for those who couldn't cut it on the road – or never even took the test. Seventy-year-old Carlos Cardoso was hit with a slew of charges, including honest services mail fraud and conspiracy, after a federal grand jury dropped the hammer in Boston.
Cardoso's scheme, which involved paying $20,000 - $30,000 in bribes to a road test examiner, let applicants skip the usual process at the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) in Brockton and get a license without proving their driving skills, authorities said. The Department of Justice announced that these "drivers" received their licenses by mail from the RMV.
Indictment papers claim Cardoso paid enough for the road test examiner to falsely pass applicants who hadn't demonstrated proper driving skills. If proven true in court, Cardoso and his accomplice could endanger many with unqualified drivers on the streets. Now, this Brockton businessman faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fines up to $250,000.
With Cardoso due in federal court later today, it's a reminder of the high stakes of playing fast and loose with public safety, and the long arm of the law when it comes to putting the brakes on corruption. The case is in the hands of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Wichers and Adam Deitch, specialists in public corruption, who are tasked with prosecuting this high-stakes test of justice. Meanwhile, the general public is left to wonder just how many licenses are truly earned on the open road, and how many are the fruits of back-door deals.
