The owner of a St. Louis driving school pleaded not guilty Monday, Dec. 11, to allegations of bribing a Missouri driver’s license examiner so students could get licenses without taking qualifying tests, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. A federal indictment alleges that Adil Alagic, 49, paid thousands of dollars to examiner Daniel Sumner from October 1999 to May 2002 in amounts ranging from $200 to $600.
Alagic, who told authorities he drove trucks for his own company, currently is shown as the registered agent and organizer of ASM Trans LLC, according to the Post-Dispatch. Alagic’s wife, Sebila Alagic, told the Post-Dispatch her husband denied the charges and that he had closed his driver’s education business in 2002 or 2003. His lawyer would not comment.
Sumner is accused of preparing false paperwork to make it appear that qualifications were met. A driver listed only as “A.R.” got a commercial driver’s license on April 26, 2002, without taking any tests or demonstrating any skill, the indictment says. Sumner has not been charged in the case, but officials did not explain why, according to the Post-Dispatch. Sumner could not be reached Monday by the newspaper for comment.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Albus asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Frederick R. Buckles to keep Adil Alagic in jail until his trial, citing questions about his financial activities, travel abroad and whether he made misleading statements about his ability to speak English. Buckles has not yet made a decision about keeping Alagic in jail.
