Investigations

On February 23, 2010, Louisiana, Harold G. Stewart pled guilty in U.S. District Court, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to one count of making a false statement in connection with his role in the falsification of 250 out of 320 commercial drivers' license (CDL) skills tests he conducted.    

Mr. Stewart was a third party examiner for Stewart Auto Sales & Salvage, Zwolle, a Louisiana Department of Public Safety, Office Motor Vehicles (LADPS, OMV) business authorized to perform CDL skills testing of CDL driver candidates. A state compliance review conducted by LADPS, OMV revealed that Mr. Stewart had tested an inordinate amount of CDL candidates with no failure ratings.  During the Office of Inspector General's (OIG) interview of Mr. Stewart, he admitted to falsifying the skills test for 250 CDL candidates for which he was paid approximately $200 per test.  The LADPS, OMV recalled and retested all 320 CDL drivers.

The OIG's investigation was conducted with significant assistance from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Southern Service Center, the FMCSA Louisiana Divisional Office and the LADPS, OMV.