United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

FORMER U.S. POSTAL SERVICE EMPLOYEE SENTENCED TO
18 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR STEALING MAIL

DALLAS — Salvador Gonzalez, a former letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, who pled guilty in December 2007 to a one-count Information charging theft of mail matter by an officer or employee, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 18 months in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Gonzalez was also ordered to pay $435.93 in restitution. He must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on May 15, 2008.

On October 4, 2006, Gonzalez, 35, of Dallas, was stopped for speeding while on his way to work. At that time, he had approximately 2,000 pieces of delayed, undelivered mail, several hundred pieces of rifled mail, and some of the contents of the rifled mail, in his possession. The rifled mail included numerous greeting cards, 50 blank checks, 23 checks payable to various people, a social security card, and 53 credit cards, none of which belonged to Gonzalez. Gonzalez admitted that he used some of the credit cards from the rifled mail and removed at least $500 in cash from the greeting cards.

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of the U.S. Postal Service - Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy J. Mitchell.

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