A 54-year-old U.S. Postal Service employee from Burrillville is facing more than two dozen felony charges after investigators say he spent months opening packages at a Providence mail facility and pocketing the firearms and valuables inside. Aubrey Dante was arrested outside his home on Snake Hill Road and now sits in custody without bail while prosecutors lay out a case built on stolen guns, piles of drugs, and a Rolex watch allegedly lifted straight from the mail.
According to turnto10.com, Dante was charged Thursday following a months-long investigation into thefts at the USPS Processing and Distribution Center on Corliss Street, where he allegedly used his position to intercept packages and steal their contents. The alleged thefts occurred between April and September 2026, the station reports, and the probe began after multiple USPS packages containing firearms, coins, trading cards and jewelry turned up missing. Court documents allege Dante also made off with coins, trading cards and a Rolex watch, according to WPRI.com.
Search of Burrillville Home Turns Up Guns and Drug Stockpile
On Oct. 21, investigators executed search warrants and arrested Dante outside his Burrillville home, per the same account from turnto10.com. The search reportedly turned up eight firearms, including three stolen Sig Sauer 9mm pistols, along with several revolvers and a 12-gauge shotgun. Authorities also recovered roughly 79 pounds of marijuana, more than a kilogram of cocaine, methamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms and Xanax pills, the station notes.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said investigators moved quickly once the pattern became clear. “And because of our team's quick action, that's as far as he got,” Neronha said, adding that Dante allegedly used his USPS position to intercept packages containing weapons and created a stockpile of guns and drugs in his home. Matthew M. Modafferi, special agent in charge of the USPS Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Area Field Office, called the alleged conduct a serious breach of public trust that raises significant public safety concerns.
Dozens of Felony Counts, No Plea Entered
Dante appeared in court on 27 counts and entered no plea during his arraignment, WPRI.com reports. The charges include six counts of larceny of a firearm, four counts of possession of a stolen firearm, five counts of carrying a dangerous weapon while committing a crime of violence, drug trafficking counts, three counts of larceny over $1,500, and one count of maintaining controlled substances, according to turnto10.com's reporting. Rhode Island law states that anyone who steals a firearm shall be deemed guilty of larceny, according to Rhode Island General Laws.
Judge Stephen Isherwood ordered Dante held without bail, and he is due back in court on Oct. 29 for a status conference, per the earlier turnto10.com account. The investigation drew on multiple agencies, including the Providence Police Department, the USPS Office of Inspector General, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Urban Violent Crime Task Force.
Not an Isolated Problem for the Postal Service
Cases of postal employees accused of raiding the mail for guns and cash have surfaced elsewhere in recent years. The USPS Office of Inspector General has detailed a prior case in which a postal employee pleaded guilty to stealing a firearm from a mailed package. A separate inspector general case summary described a postal carrier who confessed to stealing mail, selling it online and dealing drugs after investigators found stolen checks, cards, drugs and firearms in his home.
Federal data also underscores why stolen firearms draw such heavy scrutiny. An April 2024 report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found that nearly 56% of firearms trafficked in its investigations were handguns, with rifles making up the second-largest share at nearly 19%, according to the ATF. For now, Dante’s case remains in its early stages, with his next court appearance set for next Thursday.
