DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
GRETCHEN C.F. SHAPPERT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2008
CONTACT: SUELLEN PIERCE
704.338.3120
FAX 704.227.0264
CORNELIUS, NC POSTMASTER FOUND GUILTY BY FEDERAL JURY Former Postmaster David Willis Convicted for Solicitation to Commit a Crime of Violence and Murder-For-Hire CHARLOTTE - A federal jury in the Western District of North Carolina sitting in Charlotte today convicted David Willis, 56, of Stanley, NC, a retired Postmaster for the U.S. Postal Service at Cornelius, NC, on two counts alleging solicitation to commit a crime of violence and use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire. Charged in U.S. District Court in December 2007, Willis has been in federal custody since December 3, 2007.
Today’s announcement is made by U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert, who was joined by Nathan T. Gray, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)in North Carolina, and Keith Fixel, Inspector in Charge of the Charlotte Division of U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Today’s guilty verdict came on the heels of a two and a half day trial in U.S. District Court in Charlotte before the Honorable Robert J. Conrad, Jr., Chief Judge. Jury deliberations lasted approximately two hours. According to evidence presented at the trial, beginning in October 2007 Willis, who at the time was serving as the Postmaster for the U.S. Postal Service at Cornelius, NC, made several telephone calls and had a face-to-face meeting with a government informant all for the purpose of advancing the murder-for-hire scheme. During these conversations, which were recorded by law enforcement, Willis stated he was having problems with his divorce and that he would lose half of his retirement benefits to his ex-wife, also employed by the U.S. Postal Service as a letter carrier assigned to the U.S. Post Office Oakdale Station in Charlotte, NC.
The evidence showed that Willis was engaged in protracted divorce litigation with his exwife, dealing with, among other things, the equitable distribution of his U.S. Postal retirement income and of jointly held farm property in Boone, North Carolina. The audio-taped recordings admitted into evidence showed that Willis solicited the assistance of the government informant to hire someone to murder his ex-wife because of this financial dispute. On the audio-taped conversations, Willis discussed having his ex-wife murdered while she delivered mail on her route, and approved the payment of a retainer fee to the hitman. In addition, the evidence showed that Willis was prepared to murder his ex-wife himself by poisoning her with anti-freeze while she delivered mail on her route in Charlotte, NC. On one of the audio-recordings admitted at trial, Willis stated that he developed his plan to poison his ex-wife with anti-freeze after watching a program broadcast on Court TV, which documented a similar scheme.
U.S. Attorney Gretchen Shappert expressed her thanks to the involved law enforcement agencies and said, “The evidence showed that David Willis, through his words and his actions, took steps to murder his ex-wife in order to protect his retirement income. But for the extraordinary efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service, a precious life may have been lost. Today’s verdict sends an unequivocal message: violent plots will not be tolerated in this District.”The prosecution was handled for the government by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark T. Odulio and Thomas O’Malley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
With the announcement of the conviction, presiding U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr., advised that sentencing for the defendant would take place later in 2008. Willis faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years imprisonment on one count plus another 10 years on the second count. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
U.S. v. David Willis Docket No. 3:07cr277