Past Felony Record
by Bobby
I drove over the road in the mid 80's right up until April 1991 when the CDL first came out. I left the business then for a variety of reasons most of which had to do with settling down and having a stable relationship. I did well, I got into the automotive services field and did alright. I made the mistake of getting into drugs and hanging out with the wrong people in 2001. This resulted in a felony conviction in March of 2002 for fraud schemes in Arizona. In many States this is a low class felony but not in Arizona, they consider it a class 2 (B) felony. I got probation for 7 years, after a little over 3 years I got tired of dealing with the constant harassment and revoked my own probation choosing instead to get it over with by serving 2 and a half years at a minimum security work camp. Thus I actually reduced my sentence. When I got out in 2008 I had the good fortune to have a lot of support from my family. I moved closer to them in SW Missouri and it wasn't long before I found out I would have a tough time finding any kind of work with that record. Fortunately I was able to apply for work at my Counties highway department. We are a fairly rural county and the application only asked if there were any convictions in the last 5 years. Since my conviction was in 2002 and this was in 2009 I answered honestly no. I went to work and they provided a vehicle and a test appointment so I could get my class A CDL. Although the authority of the Federal government (DOT or FMCSA) over a local government agency is vague at best we needed a CDL to operate dump trucks and various equipment trailer combinations. Anyway, I got the CDL. I am happy with the job although it doesn't pay all that much. Recently I have been considering going back on the road, perhaps even teaming with my wife eventually. In about 8 months my conviction will be 10 years old, it was not drug related nor was it violent in any way. The biggest problem I have is meeting the minimum experience requirement because although I drove for 8 years OTR back in the day none of that counts as it is not recent and the local job I have now doesn't count much as I never leave the County. I am wondering what my best option would be for getting past the experience requirement. I hate to waste the money going to a school as I already drive big trucks every day and I already have the CDL. Does anyone have any suggestions? I am in no hurry as I am securely employed right now and I want to make sure I have the right opportunity before I quit a good government job. I do want to get back on the road because I really like the work and want to eventually own my own truck or trucks. |
