A former Fall River postal worker has copped to turning the trusty mail service into his personal grab bag, pleading guilty to snatching packages he was supposed to deliver, the feds said Wednesday. Rafael De Los Angeles, 43, who carries mail for the U.S. Postal Service, admitted in a Boston federal court that he played dirty with the mail, diverting parcels from their proper destinations and into the hands of others.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, De Los Angeles faced Justice Indira Talwani on December 4, 2023, confessing up to five counts of obstructing mail that occurred way back in August 2017 and his sentencing's been set for March 4 next year. Meanwhile, the residents probably wondered where their mail vanished to. De Los Angeles didn't just pocket the mail; he was elaborate enough to scan the packages as delivered, drive them to false locations, rip off labels, then proceed to hand them to others—clearly the actions of a man who thought he had outsmarted the system.
De Los Angeles opted to abuse his USPS badge, deciding that manipulating someone's birthday package or e-commerce shipment was in his job description. Each one of his charges could land him up to a half year in jail, a year of being watched after his release, and a dent in his wallet up to $5,000, a high price to pay for mail misadventures
The USPS Office of Inspector General, led by Matthew Modafferi in the Northeast, in collaboration with Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy, resolved the situation and publicly criticized De Los Angeles. Now, U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani will determine, based on guidelines and legal considerations, the duration of De Los Angeles' penalty for tampering with the mail.
