Postal employee sentenced to probation for stealing mail

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom said that a seasonal U.S. Postal Service employee was sentenced to probation for stealing mail during the 2023 holiday season.

32-year-old Willie Estrella, of Providence, was charged with conspiracy to steal mail and theft of mail by a postal employee. He plead guilty to both charges in November 2024.

Estrella and others sorted through the mail at the Providence distribution facility and placed aside brightly colored envelopes of interest.

They would then remove the mail from the distribution center and meet later to open them, finding and keeping cash, gift cards, and checks.

Bloom said that $95,000 were illegally removed from the U.S. mail stream and stolen by Estrella and others.

Estrella was sentenced to three years of federal probation.