Employee Sentenced For Stealing Mail Being Loaded On Airplanes At McCarran International Airport

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – An employee responsible for handling mail being loaded on airlines at McCarran International Airport was sentenced today by U.S. District Chief Judge Gloria M. Navarro to 30 months of probation for his guilty plea of stealing mail containing cash or gift cards, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada.

“The defendant abused his position and stole over 200 mail items in search of cash or gift cards for his personal use,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “Mail theft is a serious crime. Protecting our mail system’s integrity is important for businesses and social communication. We will continue to work with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to ensure criminals are investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent that the law allows.”

Martin Sagaga Lio Jr., 27, of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty on May 9, 2016, to one count of mail theft. He was indicted on March 1, 2016.

According to court records, between Dec. 6, 2015 and Feb. 25, 2016, Lio was employed by Swissport, the contracted company authorized to handle mail being loaded on airlines at McCarran International Airport. During this time, Lio admitted that he stole mail from mail trays which were being loaded in the cargo areas of various aircraft. He searched the mail for gift card sized envelopes which he would conceal in his clothing and take to various employee restrooms within the airport. After searching for and removing cash or gift cards, Lio would discard the opened mail in the restroom trash cans. A total of 248 mail items which Lio stole and threw away were recovered from employee restroom trash cans.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared L. Grimmer.

If you believe your mail was stolen, call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 and press 3. To file a mail theft complaint, visit https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/ or call 1-800-275-8777.

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