Fall River U.S. Postal Service employee pleads guilty to intentionally giving packages to wrong people

BOSTON – A Fall River U.S. Postal Service employee has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to obstructing the mail by diverting multiple mail packages in his custody.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Justice, 43-year-old Rafael De Los Angeles pleaded guilty on Dec. 4, 2023, to five counts of obstruction of mail. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for March 4, 2024.

On five separate occasions in August 2017, De Los Angeles knowingly and willfully obstructed the passage of five mailed packages he was responsible for delivering. Specifically, on each occasion, De Los Angeles drove the packages to different locations that were not listed as the delivery addresses. There, he scanned the packages to record them as having been delivered to the correct addresses before ripping off the address labels and giving the packages to someone other than the listed recipients.

The charge of obstruction of mail provides for a sentence of up to six months in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $5,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Matthew Modafferi, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Office made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kunal Pasricha and Luke Goldworm of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.