PHOENIX (LAWFUEL) – Anna Mari Perez, age 46, of Chandler, Ariz., and a former employee of the United States Postal Service pleaded guilty yesterday to Theft of Mail Matter by a Postal Employee in federal district court in Phoenix.
In the course of her guilty plea, Perez admitted that on December 3, 2007, she stole mail she was supposed to deliver while working as a rural letter carrier assigned to the South Station Post Office in Tempe, Arizona. The mail was a first class letter addressed to a Tempe resident that contained a $50.00 Kohl’s Department Store gift card. Instead of delivering the letter and gift card, Perez took the mail and later used the gift card to make personal purchases at a Kohl’s Department Store in Chandler, Arizona. Perez also admitted that during December 2007 and January 2008, she stole numerous other pieces of mail while on her mail route, including a letter on December 16, 2007, containing a $50.00 Dillard’s Department Store gift card; a letter on December 22, 2007, containing two $100.00 Walmart Store gift cards; a letter on December 22, 2007, containing a $10.00 Target Store gift card; a letter on December 29, 2007, containing a $75.00 Pottery Barn Store gift card; and a letter on January 5, 2008, containing a $20.00 Target Store gift card. During an interview with federal investigators on January 19, 2008, Perez admitted that she had taken the mail containing the gift cards because she was not financially stable and had used the gift cards for personal purchases.
Sentencing is set before Judge Mary H. Murguia on Monday, December 1, 2008, at 11:00 a.m.
A conviction for Theft of Mail Matter by a Postal Employee carries a maximum penalty of 5 years, a $250,000.00 fine or both. In determining an actual sentence, Judge Murgia will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General. The prosecution is being handled by Frederick A. Battista, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-08-522-PHX-MHM
RELEASE NUMBER: (2008)-(Perez)
