A driver who caused a fatal 74-vehicle wreck in 1998 allegedly paid a bribe to obtain an Illinois commercial driver's license and bribed trucking company officials so he could drive for the firm, The Chicago Tribune reported.

In November 1998, Adem Salihovic lost control of his truck on a fog-shrouded California highway, the newspaper reported, triggering a pileup that killed two people and injured 51. The Tribune had reported two years ago that Salihovic paid $800 to the manager at a Melrose Park, IL, state licensing facility to obtain a CDL permit in June 1998.

The disclosures regarding Salihovic came during the sentencing of John Nowak, formerly a safety supervisor at the Lyons, IL, terminal of Watkins Motor Lines, in U.S. District Court. He received four months' home confinement for accepting bribes from about 20 unqualified drivers.

The Tribune said Salihovic was among those who had paid the bribes.

Nowak's supervisor, Frank Catanzarite Jr., also was charged with improperly passing additional unqualified drivers on written and road tests administered by the company in return for cash bribes, according to the newspaper. Catanzarite is expected to plead guilty.

At Nowak's sentencing, U.S. District Judge Blanche Manning revealed Nowak's connection to the deaths.

In pleading guilty in August to a single fraud count, Nowak admitted receiving about $100 to $200 per bribe and estimated he pocketed a total of $3,000. On occasion, envelopes containing cash were slid under the door to his office in the Lyons terminal, he admitted.