Former Letter Carrier Sentenced for Drug Trafficking and Bribery

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced former letter carrier Takisha Cole, age 33, of Washington, D.C. today to 21 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute marijuana, use of a communications device to facilitate drug trafficking and bribery.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Paul L. Bowman of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General; Postal Inspector in Charge David G. Bowers of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; and Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department.

From at least March 2011 through September 2014, Cole was a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, assigned to a route serving the Silver Spring, Maryland area.

According to court documents and evidence presented at Cole’s five-day trial, from at least May 2013 through August 13, 2014, Michael Prandy paid Cole to use her position as a letter carrier to obtain and deliver packages containing marijuana to Prandy.  The packages were sent from California and elsewhere and mailed via USPS to Prandy’s residence in Silver Spring.  In August 2013, Prandy’s address was removed from Cole’s postal route. Nevertheless, Cole continued to pick up his packages at the Silver Spring Postal Annex and deliver them to Prandy’s residence on McAlpine Road.  According to trial testimony, in return for delivering the packages, Prandy paid Cole $50 to $100 per package, which he placed in an envelope and left in the mailbox at his residence for Cole to pick up.

Michael Louis Prandy, age 39, of Silver Spring, Maryland previously pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy and was sentenced to 33 months in prison.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the U.S. Postal Service -OIG, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deborah A. Johnston and Ray D. McKenzie, who prosecuted the case.