Former Postal Worker

Sentenced For Mail Theft

By Andrew Gorosko

BRIDGEPORT — A former Newtown mail carrier was sentenced on June 15 in US District Court for his conviction on one count of theft of mail by a postal employee, which is a felony.

Jorge Colon, 54, of Waterbury was sentenced by US District Judge Janet C. Hall to six months of house arrest, also known as home confinement, plus three years of probation, according to a statement from Nora R. Dannehy, who is the Acting US Attorney for Connecticut.

Colon formerly was employed by the US Postal Service as a senior mail carrier in Newtown.

From October 15 to November 17, 2008, a video surveillance camera was operating in the front compartment of Colon’s postal delivery vehicle. The video surveillance revealed Colon examining and opening pieces of mail that did not belong to him.

When he pleaded guilty to the charge on March 26, Colon admitted that on November 17, 2008, he opened a letter and removed its contents, which included a greeting card and a Target gift card, according to Ms Dannehy.

“In early fall of 2008, the Newtown postmaster began receiving complaints from customers that mail was being delivered opened and/or damaged,” according to the government’s sentencing memorandum submitted to the court.

Postal inspectors then determined that the customer complaints stemmed from Colon’s mail route.

Last October 14, those inspectors installed a surveillance camera in Colon’s mail delivery truck. Review of the surveillance video indicated that Colon had opened 79 pieces of mail from October 15 through November 17, 2008. The video indicated that Colon would sift through the mail bins in his truck to find what appeared to be greeting cards. Colon felt the envelopes, examined them, and held them up to the light, after which he would use a pocketknife to open individual envelopes, according to the sentencing memorandum.

After examining the envelopes in apparently searching for cash, Colon resealed the envelopes either by licking them or placing a post sticker over the back of the envelope. The stickers stated, “We’re sorry — your mail was damaged during processing,” according to the memo. Mail carriers are prohibited from carrying such stickers in their delivery vehicles.

The memorandum adds that on November 17, 2008, Colon opened a bright pink envelope and removed its contents, which were a greeting card and a Target gift card. Postal inspectors had planted that item in the mail as a “test piece” that was addressed to a fictitious person and address.

“When the agents searched the front compartment of Colon’s vehicle later that day, they located the opened test piece containing the Target gift card,” according to the court document.

“The seriousness of the defendant’s offense is reflected in the number of times that the defendant opened mail during his delivery route…The defendant did not make a single, isolated mistake. Instead, he engaged in a deliberate course of action in rifling through the mail and opening letters, looking for cash or other valuables,” it adds.

Due to his prompt guilty plea in the case, the government believes Colon will be deterred from future criminal conduct, it states.

Colon, who has no prior criminal record, does not appear to pose a threat to the public, the sentencing memorandum noted, adding that Colon had a good employment record with the postal service dating back to 1987.

Also, the government concurred with Colon that he would benefit from financial counseling services. 

Thus, the government stated that home confinement and a term of probation would be “a fair, just and reasonable” sentence for the conviction.

The US Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General and the Newtown Police Department investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Sarah P. Karwan served as prosecutor.