Rockwall Man Sentenced to 15 Months in Federal Prison for Bribery

DALLAS — Kevin Gerard Cauley, 51, of Rockwall, Texas, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to 15 months in federal prison for his role in a bribery scheme involving the concealment of information to defraud the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), announced U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox of the Northern District of Texas.

Cauley pleaded guilty in June 2017 to one count of honest services wire fraud.  Judge Lindsay ordered Cauley to surrender to the Bureau of Prison on June 19, 2018.

According to the information filed in the case, Cauley worked as a Highway Patrol - Commercial Vehicle Enforcement (“CVE”) Sergeant employed by DPS and assigned to Region I, that covered Dallas County. As a CVE Sergeant, Cauley was responsible for, among other things, enforcing traffic and criminal laws, instructing in training schools and academies, and performing safety inspections of commercial vehicles in order to provide Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance Inspection (“CVSA”) decals to commercial vehicles.

Safety inspections were performed by DPS CVE Troopers to ensure their commercial vehicles were safe for highway travel. Safety Inspections were coded Levels 1 through 5. A level 1 inspection was the highest level which meant it involved the most areas of inspection. Once a Level 1 inspection was passed, the commercial vehicle received a CVSA decal.

Orlinte Cruz owned commercial trucking companies that operated in Dallas, Texas, Cruz and Sons Transportation and UGMA Logistics.

The CVSA decal served as a notice to any other CVE personnel in the United States, Canada, or Mexico that the vehicle had recently passed a Level 1 inspection and prevented the vehicle from being stopped at an inspection station or scale so that safety violations were not as readily detected. A commercial vehicle company's safety rating was directly related to the number of violations recorded. A good safety rating translated into lower insurance premiums and a higher volume of contracts.

According to the information filed in the case, in July 2014 Cruz approached Cauley about conducting safety meetings for employees of Cruz and Sons Transportation. Shortly thereafter, Cauley began conducting inspections of Cruz and Sons Transportation and UGMA Logistics’s commercial trucks. From July 2014 and continuing until September 2015, Cauley reported conducting thirty-nine Level 1 inspections on Cruz and Sons Transportation’s vehicles. Thirty-nine of these inspections resulted in a CVSA decal. Cruz paid Cauley in United States currency at least $4,000, to receive favorable treatment from Cauley concerning the performance, or non-performance of CVSA inspection procedures.

Cruz has also pled guilty to his role in this scheme and is awaiting sentencing.

The Texas Rangers, Department of Transportation- Office of Inspector General, and FBI, investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrienne E. Frazior prosecuted.