Trucking Company Owner Sentenced in Bribery Case
Orlinte Cruz was born into poverty in Honduras and raised by an abusive father, his attorney said.
He came to the United States and drove trucks to earn a living. He earned a college degree, became a U.S. citizen and started his own trucking company that employed as many as 70 people. But Cruz risked it all to pay bribes to a state trooper for inspection decals for his fleet.
When he was charged last year with a felony count of fraud, Cruz faced up to 20 years in federal prison. But the American dream for Cruz and his family is not necessarily over.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn sentenced him July 12 to one year in custody, with six months to be served in home confinement. Lynn said she took into account Cruz’s history of hard work and achievement. And she said the case lacked evidence that Cruz’s trucks were, in fact, a danger to the public.
After issuing her sentence, Lynn gave Cruz some advice: Impart your “life lessons” to those in your community. It could make a big difference in their lives, she said.
“All of that makes for a compelling story,” Lynn said.
Cruz, 41, pleaded guilty to honest services wire fraud in November for bribing Kevin Gerard Cauley, a former Texas Department of Public Safety sergeant, to sidestep truck inspections, court records show.
Cruz, of Dallas, paid Cauley at least $4,000 so his fleet would pass state inspection, according to the charging documents.
Cauley, 51, of Royse City, was a commercial vehicle enforcement officer for DPS who conducted safety inspections of large trucks, court records show.
He had written citations for several of Cruz’s trucks on the roads prior to the bribe payments being made, prosecutors said.
He was sentenced in April to 15 months in federal prison for the same charge.
Cauley took the money from Cruz, owner of Cruz & Sons Transportation, between July 2014 and September 2015 in exchange for inspection decals he issued for more than three dozen freight trucks, according to court documents.
Lynn also ordered Cruz to pay a $10,000 fine. He will have to report to authorities next month to begin serving his sentence.
Cruz and his attorney declined comment after the hearing.
Cruz told Lynn he has lost his business but is helping his wife with a trucking company she’s running. His wife and two of his children watched from the gallery.
“I’m very ashamed of what happened,” Cruz said, his voice quivering. “I made a mistake and I’m paying a very heavy price for it. … I will never make the same mistake again.”
His wife, Ana Cruz, told the judge her husband is a hard worker and good father. The couple have four children.
“We’re a close family, and we love him,” she said through tears.
Cruz’s attorney, Adam Seidel, said his client’s trucks were “safe vehicles” and that the money Cruz paid to the trooper was for the convenience of coming to his lot to inspect the trucks. Seidel said his client has a “bright future.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrienne Frazior said an employee of Cruz’s company told investigators not all of the trucks were inspected.
Lynn called Cruz’s actions “very unsavory” but said she had given probation to defendants who did worse things. And she said Cruz should not get a harsher penalty than the former trooper, who was in a position of public trust.
