BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury today indicted a Huntsville man for embezzling from the America Postal Workers Union while he was president of a union local in Madison, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance.

The one-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges ALBERT L. GARDNER, 48, with embezzling about $12,346 from APWU Local 359 between June 2006 and June 2007.

The maximum penalty for a union officer stealing from the labor union is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Pat Meadows is prosecuting the case.

via USDOJ: US Attorney’s Office – Northern District of Alabama.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., June 1 — The U.S. Department of Justice’s U.S. Attorney’s office for Northern District of Alabama issued the following press release:

A vehicle maintenance supervisor for the U.S. Postal Service pleaded guilty today in federal court to conspiring to defraud the Postal Service of more than $300,000 in a billing kick-back scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Major Fraud Investigations Division, Special Agent in Charge Torri Piper, and IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Reginael McDaniel.

CEDRIC NALLS, 42, of Birmingham, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Inge P. Johnson. Nalls agreed to pay $330,000 in restitution to the Postal Service. His sentencing is scheduled Aug. 31.

Nalls, a supervisor at the Postal Service Vehicle Maintenance Facility in Birmingham, and vendors William Mark Payton, 44, of Bessemer, and Allen Joseph Law, 38, of Birmingham, were charged in March in connection to the scheme to submit fraudulent invoices and to conceal payment on the false invoices. Payton and Law each pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in May.

“The United States Postal Service trusted Nalls to honestly select and manage the private vendors who repaired and maintained the fleet of Postal Service vehicles in Birmingham,” Vance said. “Instead, Nalls abused that trust and conspired with two vendors to steal about $330,000 through repeated deception over a three-year period. But, as with other abusers of positions of public trust, Nalls will be punished for his greed,” she said.

According to court records, Nalls, Payton and Law conducted their conspiracy as follows:

Payton owned Bill Payton Automotive, and Law owned The Paint House, both vendors who provided maintenance and repair work on Postal Service vehicles through its maintenance facility in Birmingham.

Nalls, as a maintenance supervisor, had access to credit card numbers assigned to postal vehicles and provided the numbers to venders so they could request payment from the Houston company that managed billing for the facility. The company, U.S. Bank Voyager Fleet Systems Inc., would pay the vendors by mailing them checks or making direct deposits into the vendors’ bank accounts. The Postal Service paid Voyager for money it sent to vendors.

Nalls arranged with Payton and Law to provide them with vehicle credit card numbers so they could seek payment for work never done. They would return a portion of those payments to Nalls after receiving them in their bank accounts.

Nalls faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge.

Payton and Law face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on their conspiracy charge.

The U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, and IRS, Criminal Investigation, investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Martin is prosecuting the case.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Today, JAMES E. DRAHEIM, 63, from Elgin, Oklahoma, was sentenced by United States District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti to serve 37 months in federal prison for theft of public funds from the United States Postal Service and for filing a false tax return, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. In addition, Judge DeGiusti ordered Draheim to serve two years of supervised release following his prison term and pay restitution of $643,604.49 the Postal Service and $129,061.66 to the IRS.

Draheim was employed as the Postmaster in Elgin, Oklahoma, and from October 2005 through September 2009 used his position of trust to embezzle from the United States Postal Service. Specifically, Draheim took money paid by postal customers for bulk mailings, failed to credit the customer’s account for the full amount of the check, and then embezzled the difference by purchasing money orders in his own name which he then used for his own personal benefit. Draheim pled guilty on September 28, 2010, to theft of public funds and filing a false tax return for the 2008 tax year.

via USDOJ: US Attorney’s Office – Western District of Oklahoma.

CHICAGO, IL – May 26, 2011 – The month of May starts the busiest time of the year for changing residences. As people look to the Internet to update their street addresses, rather than visit a local post office, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns consumers of an online scam involving websites claiming to change your address and charging a hefty fee to do so.

The scam begins with a consumer searching the internet for a change of address form and being directed to websites, such as www.change-address-online.com. This website is in no way affiliated with the US Postal Service, and should be avoided, according to the BBB. The website asks consumers to fill in the requested addresses, and then credit card information. After providing the credit card information, consumers find their address has not been updated, yet they are charged between 20 and 40 dollars. Read the rest of this entry »

NEWARK, N.J. – The former Secretary-Treasurer of a New Jersey Postal Workers union was sentenced today to 20 months in prison for conspiring to embezzle funds from the union’s operating account, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

John McGovern, 55, of Hawthorne, N.J., previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to embezzle from a union before U.S. District Judge Faith S. Hochberg, who also imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

Read the rest of this entry »

A former U.S. Postal Service worker who stole mail for painkillers and cash to support a long-term drug habit was sentenced to federal probation on Friday.

Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard C. Tallman of Seattle gave Tyler E. Blazina, 36, of Billings a break from prison but promised to lock him up for a long time if he violates release conditions.

Full story: Billings Gazette: Ex-postal worker sentenced for mail theft.

Five indictments were issued yesterday by a federal grand jury in Detroit, separately charging five U.S. Postal Service supervisors with conspiring with a private contractor to take bribes in exchange for directing over $13 million in maintenance work on Postal Service vehicles to a private contractor in Ohio and Michigan, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced today. McQuade was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Torri Piper of the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) and Elizabeth A. Farcht, the Special Agent in Charge of the Postal Service OIG’s Eastern Area.

The five Postal Service employees charged are: Denny Robinson, 35, of Brownstown Township, Michigan; Bruce Plumb, 61, of Brownstown, Michigan; Gregory Gorski, 47, of Canton, Michigan; Jeffery Adams, 50, Copley, Ohio; and Mancer Holmes, 49, of Farmington Hills, Michigan. When the defendants took their bribes, Robinson was employed as a Supervisor at the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) Vehicle Maintenance Facility (“VMF”) in Detroit; Gorski was the Acting Manager of the USPS VMF in Ann Arbor; Plumb was the Acting Manager of the VMF for the USPS in Detroit; Adams was the Manager of the USPS VMF in Akron, Ohio, and Adams had previously served as a Supervisor at the VMF in Detroit; and Holmes served as a Lead Automotive Technician at the USPS Bulk Mail Center in Allen Park, Michigan, and he served as a Lead Mechanic at the VMF in Detroit.

Each indictment charges one of the five men with conspiring with a private contractor to accept bribes in the form of cash and other things of value in exchange for directing repair and maintenance work on USPS vehicles to the private contractor. The USPS maintains Vehicle Maintenance Facilities around the country, including in Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Akron, Ohio. The five Postal Service employees charged today worked at these facilities, and they had the responsibility to decide whether work on Postal vehicles would be performed by USPS employees or sent out to private contractors. They also had the responsibility to decide which private contractor would be used for work sent outside of the USPS. Between 2004 and 2010, during the course of the conspiracies between the private contractor and the five USPS employees indicted today, the private contractor charged the USPS over $13 million for maintenance and repair work.

The bribes taken by the five defendants from the private contractor are summarized below:

Plumb accepted thousands of dollars in drinks and lap dances at a local strip club, over $8,000 in free work done on a truck belonging to Plumb’s grandson, and a $3,000 paver patio installed in Plumb’s backyard. In addition, on a weekly basis, Plumb used the services of a prostitute paid for by the private contractor. Plumb also accepted Levitra pills supplied by the contractor.

Adams accepted over $60,000 in cash bribes, a 1997 Chevrolet Malibu, thousands of dollars in free car parts and service work on cars, a $40,000 loan for the purchase of a condominium, tickets for games of the Detroit Lions, Detroit Tigers, Detroit Pistons, and Cleveland Cavalier, golf outings, and a $4,000 heating and cooling unit for Adams’ house.

Robinson accepted over $65,000 in cash bribes, thousands of dollars in free service work on cars, a 2001 Chrysler Minivan, and a custom-modified, high-performance Ford Pinto.

Holmes accepted over $6,000 in cash bribes.

Gorski accepted $2,000 in cash bribes, a 1999 Pontiac Minivan, tickets for Detroit Pistons, Detroit Lions, and University of Michigan football games, and thousands of dollars in gift cards.

Upon conviction, each of the five defendants faces a maximum of up to five years in prison for conspiring to commit bribery. In addition, Robinson faces a maximum of fifteen years in prison on each of five additional counts of bribery. Holmes also faces up to fifteen years in prison on each of five additional bribery charges. Adams also faces up to two years in prison for two counts of accepting illegal gratuities. Gorski faces up to fifteen years in prison on each of four counts of bribery. Finally, Plumb also faces up to fifteen years in prison for each of two counts of bribery and up to two years in prison on a single count of accepting an illegal gratuity.

The indictments also seek forfeiture of the illegal payments received by the five Postal Service employees in connection with their bribery schemes.

United States Attorney McQuade said, “U.S. government employees hold positions of public trust, and they are responsible for managing public funds. Federal employees who personally profit by taking bribes in exchange for official acts will prosecuted.”

Torri Piper, Special Agent in Charge of the OIG’s Major Fraud Investigations Division said, "The Postal Service spends about $11 to $12 billion on contracts annually – an amount that provides opportunities for fraud. Special Agents from the Postal Service OIG aggressively investigate any such schemes to defraud the Postal Service." This investigation began under the direction of Elizabeth A. Farcht, the Special Agent in Charge of the Postal Service OIG’s Eastern Area. Said Ms. Farcht, "These five postal employees, charged with managing multi-million dollar vehicle maintenance contracts, betrayed the public’s confidence in the Postal Service by taking bribes and kickbacks. Their criminal actions ultimately result in higher contract costs for the Postal Service. The OIG appreciates the efforts by the United States Attorney’s Office in bringing this scheme to an end."

via USDOJ: US Attorney’s Office – Eastern District of Michigan.

BOSTON, Mass. – A federal postal inspector and a former law firm paralegal have been charged with perjury and obstruction of justice.

On May 10, 2011, JOSEPH M. McGONAGLE, III, 37, of Danvers and MELANIE M. ABBRUZZESE, 31, were charged in federal court in a two count indictment with perjury and obstruction of justice. The indictments allege that on May 19, 2010, McGONAGLE and ABBRUZZESE testified falsely under oath in a court hearing that took place before United States District Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr.

The court hearing at which they allegedly testified falsely took place in connection with the criminal trial in United States v. Eric L. Levine, et al (“Levine” case). At the time, McGONAGLE was a postal inspector assigned to assist in the investigation and prosecution of the Levine case. ABBRUZZESE was a paralegal employed by Denner Pelligrino, LLP, the law firm representing the defendant, Eric Levine.

As stated in the indictment, it was material to the May 19, 2010 hearing that the Court determine, among other things, whether MCGONAGLE and ABBRUZZESE had any personal interactions, by phone, email, in person, or otherwise and, if so, whether during those interactions there was a breach of confidentiality.

The indictments allege that their testimony on May 19th was false, in that contrary to their testimony, they had social out-of-office and out-of-court meetings that were not of a professional nature and that they exchanged emails that were of a personal nature. In addition, the indictments allege that McGONAGLE’s and ABBRUZZESE’s false testimony at the hearing obstructed justice in that they knowingly and willfully made false and misleading declarations before a Court of the United States with intent to obstruct and impede the Court’s inquiry into the nature of their relationship.

If convicted on these charges, they each face up to five years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine on the perjury charge and up to 10 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $ 250,000 fine on the obstruction of justice charge.

U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Jane Hughes, Special Agent in Charge for the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Freniere of Ortiz’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.

via USDOJ: US Attorney’s Office – District of Massachusetts.

The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports that police have arrested a 16 year old Little Rock youth in connection with the robbery of a letter carrier in that city on April 2. Roshad Thomas and an accomplice are said to have taken the carrier’s cell phone, pocket knife and dog spray, but did not take any mail.

Thomas, who will be charged as an adult, faces 25 years in prison if convicted.

16-year-old arrested in mailman hold-up.

Former Bridgeton Postmaster Daniel Mayo has been charged with

Mayo.jpgNews staff photoFormer Bridgeton postmaster Daniel Mayo

stealing more than $17,000 in fraudulent checks from the U.S. Postal Service during his tenure in charge of the city post office.

Mayo made his first appearance in federal court Tuesday in Camden, where he was released on a $50,000 bond after waiving his preliminary hearing, according to officials. The case is scheduled to pick up again in 60 days.

“Basically, the allegation is that Mayo input fictitious hours into the U.S. Postal Service payroll system (for an employee who had since resigned),” said Scott Balfour, special agent with the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.

Full story: Former Bridgeton postmaster in federal court for allegedly stealing $17,000 from U.S. Postal Service | NJ.com.