Postal worker had $1.3 million worth of stolen checks stuffed in backpack, feds say
Seven postal employees are accused of participating in a mail theft ring in Rhode Island, including one worker who federal prosecutors said stole more than $1.3 million in checks in one day.
Pieces of mail with the stolen checks were located inside the employee’s backpack after a “one day’s haul,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island.
The seven men, including one U.S. Postal Service supervisor, are accused of teaming up to steal money, checks and gift cards from the mail at the USPS Processing and Distribution Center on Corliss Street in Providence, from early 2023 through early 2024.
More than 3.5 million pieces of mail are processed at the facility every day, U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha said during a news conference streamed by WPRI-TV.
There, the postal employees sorted, separated and stole mail, which they smuggled out of the center inside backpacks, prosecutors said.
They worked together in a “well-organized unit,” Cunha said.
All seven men, who live in Rhode Island, are charged with a conspiracy and theft of mail, Cunha’s office announced in a May 15 news release.
An attorney representing one of the men declined a request for comment May 16. Attorneys representing five of the men didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ requests for comment. Information regarding a seventh defendant’s legal representation wasn’t available.
“The misuse of public employment for private gain is both a serious crime and profound breach of the public trust,” Cunha said in the news release.
The charges stem from customer complaints dating back to March 2023, when multiple people reported their mail was missing or was delivered to them empty, prosecutors said.
Following the reports, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General identified a group of employees at the Providence center as suspects, according to prosecutors.
The employees were calculated and targeted certain pieces of mail, Cunha said during the news conference.
“During the Christmas season, the conspirators selected brightly colored holiday envelopes that might contain gift cards, checks or cash and set them aside in separate mail trays,” Cunha explained.
After the employees’ shifts were over, they got together to steal items inside, according to prosecutors.
During the investigation, a woman was arrested in January after she was accused of using a T.J. Maxx gift card that was stolen from the mail, according to an affidavit.
She told authorities that the father of her child, one of the USPS employees accused of theft, “often gave her gift cards,” including the T.J. Maxx card, “in lieu of child support payments,” the affidavit says.
The woman “denied knowing the gift cards were stolen,” according to the affidavit.
Another employee, a USPS supervisor, is accused of acting as a “lookout” for his co-workers in the scheme, the affidavit says.
As of May 15, the supervisor and four other employees are still employed by USPS, but they’re on “paid emergency leave status,” according to the affidavit.
One employee resigned March 28, and another was fired Dec. 29, the affidavit says.
How to report mail theft
Matthew Modafferi, the special agent in charge of the USPS Office of Inspector General’s northeast area field office, said at the news conference that “the overwhelming majority of postal service employees are hard-working and trustworthy people who come to work every day to serve the American public by moving the U.S. mail to its intended destination.”
“Unfortunately though, there are some that abuse their position of trust to benefit themselves,” he said.
Six of the postal employees were arrested May 15, according to prosecutors.
Suspected mail theft can be reported over the USPS Office of Inspector General hotline at 1-888-877-7644, online or over email at Hotline@uspsoig.gov. Tips can also be mailed at USPS OIG, Attn: OIG Hotline, 1735 North Lynn Street, Arlington, Virginia, 22209-2020.
This story was originally published May 16, 2024 at 11:35 AM with the headline "Postal worker had $1.3 million worth of stolen checks stuffed in backpack, feds say."
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