A former state employee with the Texas Department of Public Safety was sentenced this week to two years in prison for taking bribes to hand people their commercial driver's licenses without actually testing them.

Alonzo Blackman, 68, took $1,000 a pop to issue 215 fraudulent CDLs.

During Blackman’s sentencing on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez also ordered him to pay a $215,000 judgment.

The next day, the judge sentenced one of those who bribed Blackman — Marino Maury Diaz-Leon, 55 — to a year and a day behind bars.

Blackman received bribes from Diaz-Leon, a Cuban national living in San Antonio, and Fernando Guardado Vazquez, 43, of San Antonio.

On Feb. 13, 2020, Blackman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud. Diaz-Leon pleaded guilty in May 2021 to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud.

Vazquez also pleaded guilty in May of this year to conspiracy to commit fraud. He is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 10.

“This case represents an appalling breach of public trust and safety,” U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff said in a statement. “Our office will continue to work with the FBI and our other law enforcement partners to hold corrupt officials and those who conspire with them accountable for their criminal actions.”

According to prior FBI testimony, a DPS audit in December 2018 found that Blackman “had an unusual number of CDLs being issued.” An investigation by DPS and the Texas Rangers identified more than 200 license holders who had not been scheduled to take the skills test, which consists of an air brake safety inspection and a road test.

Applicants for CDLs are required to take the skills test in the same class and type of motor vehicle they plan to drive once obtaining the trucking license.

Eventually, 215 commercial driver’s licenses were found to be fraudulent. Of those, 197 went to Cuban nationals, 11 to U.S. citizens, one to a Dominican Republic national, one to an Ethiopian, one to an Iraqi, one to a Puerto Rican, one to a Ukraine national and two to Mexican nationals.

Blackman had been with DPS since 2012, and had been testing people for CDLs since at least 2015 before he left under a cloud when he was caught, records show.

“We will continue to aggressively investigate allegations of public corruption and would like to thank our partners for their strong partnership and unrelenting pursuit of justice,” said Oliver E. Rich Jr., who took over earlier this year as the special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio office.

guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland