Postal Workers Steal Pot Mailed Illegally to New York Addresses

Eight postal workers at a Long Island processing center accused of intercepting and stealing pot mailed to addresses in New York have been arrested on federal charges of theft of mail and conspiring to distribute more than 129 pounds of marijuana.

While mailing marijuana itself was illegal, the suspects in Long Island are charged with taking the packages containing weed with a potential street value of $100,000 to $930,000 and attempting to sell the pot themselves over a six-month period, authorities told Newsday.

"In this case, rather than alerting law enforcement agents to the presence of suspicious packages, the defendants allegedly stole the parcels from the processing line and placed them in a corridor outside," said Loretta Lynch, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District.

According to PostalNews.com, the defendants are accused of retrieving the parcels from the corridor and taking them to an adjacent business park. They are charged with then relabeling the packages with new addresses.

Rafael Medina, a special agent for the U.S. Postal Service, told WCBS-TV that the alleged actions of the eight defendants clouds the work of other postal workers.

"The conduct alleged in the criminal complaint is beyond disgraceful and our office will continue to tirelessly investigate those postal service employees who violate the public’s trust," said Medina. "The dedicated work of the hundreds of thousands of postal service employees should never be overshadowed by those who compromise their integrity for personal gain."

Lynch said the investigation ensures that government employees are held accountable to "act with the degree of integrity that the public expects and deserves."

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