Former Postmaster Sentenced for Stealing Postal Service Funds

    BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Donna Spencer, 51, of Falconer, N.Y., who was convicted of misappropriation of postal funds by a postal service employee, was sentenced to two-years probation by Chief Judge William M. Skretny. The defendant was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $14,023.50 to the U.S. Postal Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell T. Ippolito, Jr., who handled the case, stated that Spencer was employed by the United States Postal Service since 1986. Between February 13, 1999, and July 19, 2013, the defendant was employed as the Postmaster at the Frewsburg, N.Y. Post Office. During that time, Spencer accepted cash payments from USPS customers for the purchase of postage stamps. Instead of depositing the cash payments into the USPS register, the defendant kept the cash for her own purposes. An audit of the Frewsburg facility determined that the total loss amount was $14,023.50.              

                The plea is the culmination of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Shelly A. Binkowski of the Boston Division.