TRENTON, N.J. – A U.S. Postal Service (USPS) carrier will
make his initial appearance today on charges that he stole from the mail
prescription drugs issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), U.S.
Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Christopher F. Donohue, 60, of Leonardo, New Jersey, is
charged by complaint with theft of mail containing prescription drugs. Donohue
is expected to make his initial appearance by video conference before U.S.
Magistrate Judge Zahid N. Quraishi in Trenton.
According to the complaint and statements made in court:
Donohue was employed as a mail carrier at the USPS Post
Office in Belford, New Jersey. On March
2, 2020, Donohue stole an envelope containing prescription medication that was
destined for delivery to a military veteran. This theft was consistent with a
series of other mail packages containing prescription medication issued by the
VA, which had gone missing from the Belford Post Office without reaching their
intended recipients. On May 6, 2020, Donohue attempted to steal another package
from the Belford Post Office, which law enforcement had outfitted with a
prescription bottle and inert pills as part of the investigation. Donohue was
arrested and law enforcement recovered the pill bottle and envelope from him
incidental to his arrest.
The charge of theft of mail by postal employee carries a
maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S.
Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, Eastern Area Field Office, under
the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew M. Modafferi; the Department
of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office, under
the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri; and the
Middletown Township Police Department under the direction of Chief Craig Weber
with the investigation leading to today’s charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney
Michelle S. Gasparian of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in
Trenton.
The charges and allegations in the complaint are merely
accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven
guilty.
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