Good Man With A Felony Looking For Advice.

Hello All,

Where do I start? In December 2005, I plead guilty in Federal Court to a non-violent, non-drug related offense (white collar category). I was sentenced and served 36 months in Federal Prison. I have no other criminal records and interestingly enough if you run a standard background on me, my criminal history comes back clean.

I have been home now for just over 5 years and I have been off paper for a little over 2. I am not proud of my criminal past and I wish that I had learned somewhere else what I learned while I was in prison. Contrary to popular belief many people turn their time of incarceration into a positive and in my case that is what I did. I managed to keep my wife and children through the ordeal and I and my family believe that I am a much better person today than I was 10 years ago.

I have always enjoyed traveling and for as long as I could remember I always looked upon "The Knights of the Road" with a sense of awe. I know many of the reasons why I should not go into trucking and many more reasons why I should. I have reached out to Trainco here in Michigan and they gave me a direction to take in getting pre-hire letters. I am eligible for tuition assistance for my CDL and I would rather own it myself then attend company training and be further in debt.

The problem I am having is in dealing with the recruiters, they are always pleasant and even after I inform them of my criminal history they still sound quite confident that it will not be a problem. They tell me they need to confirm with their safety board and then I do not hear form them again. I have emailed them back and tried calling back but I do not get anywhere.

I know that within these forums there must be drivers that have a less than perfect past. I am hoping that someone may be able to give me some advice as to what direction I should take from here. I do greatly appreciate any help that you may be able to give.

Sincerely Patrick

If your being turned down due to a background check then there is only one solution.....wait. Most companies ,regardless of the felony involved, want at least 10 years for clean living after you are completely through with your sentence. That includes being on paper also....i.e. parole and probation.

Now some companies may look at you at the 5 year mark but most want 10 years. I have faced this but seem to have little trouble cause it has been way over ten years since I was in trouble.

Like I said its still possible but I see the time limit as your main issue. You still have 3 years left for the 5 year mark cause that includes parole also. Some companies look at and start the timer at your conviction date and others start the timer when you are completely free(after parole).

With all the being said it is possible to find a job but you will literally have to apply at every company out there. I mean ALL of them to find that one that might take a chance on you despite the lack of time separating you from your past.

The criminal background check you get from say a state Trooper barracks may not be as revealing as HireRight .

I know this to be the case with the NH MVR I paid for at my states Capitol DMV.

This does not give you a way out of your dilemma ....just an FYI.

I was denied getting into a company sponsored training class due to a recent three month old charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Even though the case was No Billed and dismissed, the company decided not to allow me in.

Then I went and called CR England, they had no problem with my back ground and put me through training and employment.

You may want to give them a try, the training is free as long as you work six or nine months for them.

I wanted to thank you for your advice so far. I have tried CR England and they said that they wanted 10 years from my release because my crime involved theft. I understand of course but I am curious if the recruiters all talk from the same script as I have received contrary information from different recruiters from the same company.

I certainly understand the reservation of the companies when looking at a conviction but I am still holding hope. I do not blame anyone for my situation other than myself of course and I would love an opportunity to show that I have learned a great deal about myself and that if given a second chance I will show that I deserve it.

I wanted to thank you for your advice so far. I have tried CR England and they said that they wanted 10 years from my release because my crime involved theft. I understand of course but I am curious if the recruiters all talk from the same script as I have received contrary information from different recruiters from the same company.

I certainly understand the reservation of the companies when looking at a conviction but I am still holding hope. I do not blame anyone for my situation other than myself of course and I would love an opportunity to show that I have learned a great deal about myself and that if given a second chance I will show that I deserve it.

I'd just try applying at as many places as possible. My roommate did almost three years in TDCJ for a burglary for theft charge. He got his CDL while inside as part of a rehab program and got hired doing regional runs within 2 months of his release. Keep applying. Someone is bound to give you a shot.

Curtmandu,

I must say I am very happy to hear that your roommate had such good luck. Thanks for replying it means a great deal to hear something like that. Do you happen to know what company hired him? Thanks Again for the help.

Branum Trucking. It's a local company here in Canyon. They do regional runs for Affiliated Foods which is north of here in Amarillo.

I have drug related charges from 9 years ago and while i ran into the same problem you did i found luck with Stevens, may trucking, and i might have had luck with covenant(still waiting to hear back on final approval). Also i have heard a lot of negative feed back but Carolina Cargo has hired many people that needed a second chance so you could give them a try, but like i said lots of negative feed back about them so i am not sure how they really are.